A Christmas Tree Party!

How COOL is this?? I love all the linky parties each week and lately seem to spend more time looking at all the other blogs in blogland instead of doing anything with my own! haha! There are so many wonderful Christmas decor and handmade crafts and foodies and so much more out there during the Christmas season.

This is a link party for Christmas trees! There's over 500 links so far. Check it out here:

Thrifty Decor Chick: A Christmas Tree Party!

I used to decorate quite a few Christmas trees and each one had a theme of some sort. Now that we are in a smaller home, space is an issue so I only have one tree up. It's a "slim" tree! I have to admit that as much as I enjoyed the years of multi-trees and a house full of decorations -- it's rather nice to have my tree up and decorated in record time!


Birds are my favorite ornament.



Especially clip-on birds, and more especially, glass birds.



Glass birds with feathers!



The Three Wise Men is my other favorite.



More Three Kings.



Clip-on butterflies in the aqua color I like.



Glass Partridge in a Pear Tree.



One of my cherished glass birds. A gift from my mother-in-law.



Mostly copper, aqua and gold on my tree.



Peacock feathers at the top.



This little tree is on my kitchen counter. Clip-on gold butterfly for the top.



Tiny glass Santa with cute ornament hooks.



And of course, more birds!


Thanks for visiting!

Canadian Geese: The goslings are growing

We came across the same family of Canadian Geese today (that I mentioned a few days ago).

Babies are growing!

Thanks for visiting!

Canadian Geese babies are born!

Mama Goose in the front and Daddy Goose in the back -- he's keeping an eye on me!



Each spring at the lake, we are inundated with Canadian Geese. I love the geese, especially when the goslings are newly hatched and still yellow/grey and fluffy. The adults are one of the most dedicated parents I have ever seen -- I have actually seen them threaten cars that slow down to catch a look at them!

These geese that I photographed are in a small body of water located across the road from the bigger lake. Throughout the day, the geese will leave this water, and with Mom in the lead and Dad bringing up the tail, they will march those babies over to the big lake and later on, back to this small area of water. Daddy Goose is the one who honks, barks and hisses at anything that looks remotely close to a threat. Cars will stop to allow the family to cross the road and Dad doesn't get too upset over the cars -- but watch out if you get out of the car to take a photo!! When you see a goose stand up straight and spread his wings and start hissing, you better move outta the way and fast!

The geese families often hang out together and create a crèche -- with a few adults and many goslings. They're very family-oriented!

Canadian Geese are monogamous -- they mate for life. A few years ago, we witnessed the death of one of the parents, and her mate stayed by her body for a very long time. He wouldn't allow anybody near her! When one of the pair does die, the remaining goose will eventually find a new mate.

The two geese families I photographed here each had three babies. We've seen families with as few as a single babe -- and as many as 18!

As the goslings grow older, they begin looking like mini versions of Mom and Dad. The families stay together all summer long. I've read that they stay together for an entire year but by the end of the summer, they don't hang out at the lake as much, so I don't see them. By the end of the summer, it's impossible to tell the adults from their children.

These babies are less than a week old. At the end of the first week after they hatch, they start losing the yellow color. When they are a few weeks old and much bigger, we do our best to keep them out of our yard because geese are pooping machines and will leave a disaster on the lawn!

I stayed in the car to take these photos:

Family #1 with three babies



Baby geese can swim immediately and can also dive and swim underwater



Family #2 also with three babies. I can only see two in the photo.

They were along the side of the road until we stopped the car for a photo.

Heading into the water. I still only see two babies.

Now all three babies are visible

And into the water they go...

I think they're happier away from our car. :)

Thanks for visiting!!
 

I will be linking to the following fantastic parties this week:

Anything Goes Party at Type A

Eagle carving: beginning to end

I thought I'd show the photos of the eagle I posted about here being made. These were sent to me by the friends who had it carved out of the tree on their property.

(note: the date stamp on the first photo is correct. The date stamp on the photos following that are incorrect -- this was just carved a week ago!)

Oak tree had to be cut down over the winter. Tall tree stump is left.

  

Beautiful morning brings the artist and the chainsaw. Scaffolding is set up. Sculpting begins.

Lots of big chunks removed.

On Eagle's wings... made me think of this verse:
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. -- Isaiah 40:31

Amazing attention to detail!

Eagle is completely carved out. Incredible.

Staining the carving

Completed! I thought it was about 12' high but looks more like 15' -- it's huge!

Thanks for visiting!



I will be linking to the following fantastic parties:

Debbiedoo's Newbie Party at Debbiedoo's Blogging and Blabbing
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop at Homemaker on a Dime

The Eagle Has Landed

A new resident has appeared at the lake!! Standing approximately 12' high, this HUGE eagle emerged over the weekend from a large tree stump.

A local artist came out with his chainsaw in the morning and by the end of the day, this fabulous carving was finished! He was then stained. The white and yellow is painted.

Although Mr. Eagle belongs to friends of ours, he is being shared with the entire lake as he is next to the road and overlooking the water.

I have a feeling that there won't be any ducks hanging out underneath this guy... 

Thanks for visiting!

Birdwatching is Dangerous! Proceed with caution...

I posted a few days ago about the Bald Eagle that I see each day. I still see him occasionally throughout the week. Or I could be spotting other eagles and not "my" eagle. The eagle population has grown tremendously in Northwest Iowa!

This morning, I nearly ran off the road trying to get a photograph (without success) of him! It seems as if I always see the really cool birds while I'm driving 65 55 mph on my way to work and I can't stop and check it out. Ok, well, actually I could stop since I drive down a road without any traffic to speak of. But each time I've tried that, the focus of my attention manages to fly away.

Today I went home for lunch and spent a half hour trying to photograph a group of Nuthatches on the tree next to my driveway. Didn't capture a single decent shot. Wasted my entire lunch time and potentially ruined my boots in the water and mud that is spreading everywhere with the warm temperatures today.

My time was up and I had to return to work, so I headed back into town. As I approached the end of the road, something large flies down and lands on a sign. A hawk! I love hawks! (I don't like them when they discover my bird feeders and consider it their personal all-you-can-eat-bird-buffet. But I can't control Mother Nature.) As I slowed down and tried to reach for my camera without driving into the ditch and flipping my truck I thought for sure Mr. Hawk was going to fly off. I came to a complete stop just 30 feet away from him and he still didn't fly off. I rolled down my window and aimed the camera -- he actually lifted his head as if to pose for the camera.

I finally got a great birding photo today!

First shot -- Hawk lifted his head as if to pose for the picture!



Hawk flew across the road to the sign on the other side and I took this through my windshield.


(p.s. - Those are antique glass telephone insulators on the old telephone pole in first photo. They're all over around here. I'm not brave enough to try to get any of them.)

Thanks for visiting my blog!

The Eagle

I usually leave for work each morning around 7:30 and at least once a week I see a Bald Eagle flying along the road. Usually he is too far away or too high to try to capture a photo. The last few days, the eagle has surprised me by flying out of one of the trees next to my driveway! So this morning, I slowly drove down the driveway towards the road with my camera turned on and in my hand...

Sure enough -- just as I pulled onto the road, the eagle swooped out of one of our trees and took off into the air. Even though I had the camera in my hand, it was still hard to get a photo -- but I did catch a blurry one.

About a mile later, he surprised me and flew into a small grove of trees by a house.

Just a quick glimpse of these majestic eagles always makes my day!