Christmas morning, 2011...

                                                                      

and so it came to pass at 7420 in little a-town, that most precious of all happenings.  family gathered from hither and yon and that most rare of occurrences... snow on Christmas morning.  and even more rare, more perfect, that snow is falling straight down.

to add a bow atop this snow Christmas gift, the rarely seen at our back yard bird feeder, Horace, the Christmas cardinal.  no other gift need me given to the lady of this house.

                                                                             

as for me i am content, with family gathered 'round and the hush of falling snow muting the hustle and bustle of the day, it just doesn't get any better than this.

my wish for each of you and yours is a picture perfect day just like the one we are having here.  and a blessed new year filled with peace and the the wonder of discovery a new year brings. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

aio 

                                                                     

it's snowing...

as usual, the weather gurus have it wrong again.   the prediction was for snow, "up to an inch on the west side of of little a-town" and tapering off as it passes to the east. it started to snow as i was going to bed last night. as the hour approaches noon, it continues to snow pretty hard at times and accumulation here at 7420 is likely close to 3 inches, give or take. there's nothing wrong with that, we need the moisture.

in general, i object to feeding the birds; particularly in the summertime when there should be plenty of food about. i have a particular prejudice against the common sparrow, the first bird species to move into the neighborhood when we built our thirty odd years ago.

over the years more and different species have come around. i remember our excitement the first spring we saw robin red breast come to call.

my wife (being a buckeye by birth) just about came unglued when she saw the first cardinal flitting about the yard in the spring/summer of '10. this past summmer she watched as juvenile cardinals grew into adulthood.

                                                                     
this morning, with snow on the ground and snow still falling at times, watching the variety of birds gathering for some free seeds and suet at the feeders, (including a beautiful, bright red cardinal btw) my objection to feeding the birds makes little sense.

                                         

                                                                   
                                                            
i can hear them as they feed "chirp, chirp". loosely translated they're saying "thanks, ohio buckeye lady, many thanks".
aio