Morning Light in Winter

We have been blessed with two mornings filled with gorgeous sunshine the last two days... but temperatures well below freezing have kept us out for only a short time.
Dryden Lake and the Shug Trail at -12 degrees C!

But now the snow has turned to sleet and rain, so changes are coming...
Nicholas

Garden Visitors

Now as the year's season's begin to move on, we have been blessed with a number of garden visitors lately....
This morning a stunning Cooper's Hawk sat on a chair down by the fire pit for the best part of a half hour and a few days ago I photographed the hummingbird and a Monarch on the Buddleia bush by the path.
Plants have grown spectacularly this year, I suspect because of the rain...

Nicholas

Early morning on the Shug trail

An early morning walk the other day on the Shug trail was a delight... Judy and I spotted a deer and two baby fawns and a pair of beavers attending to the big dam by the bridge at mile 2. For a second or two we spotted the belted kingfisher but the bird is so shy it flees at the slightest movement.
Nicholas

Return to Iona

Judy and I visited Iona again two weeks ago. 
We were last there six years ago in 2012 just before we emigrated to the USA.
The place is timeless and, this time, bathed in spectacular sunshine all the time we were there.

We then went on to visit Iceland and were greeted by gray skies and emerging sunshine and, then, immense landscapes that stretched away into distance.

Nicholas

Slow spring

After what has seemed an interminable wait, spring has arrived with a rush in the last ten days. Our Kwanzan Cherry has flowered for the first time since we planted it, and our Red Bud Maple is gorgeous this year.

We have set out an Oreole feeder and can't wait to see if we can attract these beautiful birds.

Walking the Shug trail yesterday, Judy and I were saddened to see that five little goslings had disappeared overnight... fallen victim to a fox. The mother had sat patiently on her nest for a month.

The Beavers are as busy as ever... their dam has created a lake upstream not far from Dryden Lake.
Everywhere are felled trees, all material for the next endeavour!

Nicholas

March sunsets...

Still with snow on the ground, we have had some gorgeous skies the last few days.
And now that the Red Winged Blackbirds have arrived, in their hundreds, it seems at last that this year is moving on from the depths of winter.

A few days ago, walking along the Shug trail I spotted a flock of Mergansers rising from the creek.... red headed diving birds they were a gorgeous sight.

Nicholas