Feeder frenzy, fawn photobomb and fabulous fungi

It was a cold morning and I'd just flung a bunch of wild bird seed out.

The birds rewarded us with early morning visits.

Two hungry acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus)

neatly photobombed by a mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) fawn.

THREE acorn woodpeckers on one pinecone. Impressive.

Especially the one that's upside down.

I also like that one tiny bit of feed falling 'neath them.

Sticking the tongue out.

First saw these two Steller's jays (Cyanocitta stelleri)
and wondered why the little one was standing its ground in the face of a larger one.

And then I thought: oh... the little one is probably the offspring of the big one.*

And rather than threatening with the big mouth, it's saying, "Feed me!"
It's a theory.*

Since we've gotten a bit of rain these last few weeks,
the hygroscopic earthstars (Astraeus hygrometricus) unfurled again,
much to my delight.

I love this olive green one... so elegant.

Nice beige, crackly one.

This one shows JUST how much they can look like an exploded acorn.

So, that's some of the things kicking around the property in February.

I will be posting more images of birds
and the early-blooming flowers soon.

In the meantime, here's to more rain here in the west! Woo-hoo!

xoxoxo bb


*Yes, it's a theory, but it's probably wrong. Two smarties commented that
this sort of behavior is common in mated pairs. Flirting, basically. =) Thanks, peeps!

Is it me, or should this be a 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle?!?

Geese (presumably snow & Ross's) at Merced NWR, January 2014.

Someone enduring a long winter might appreciate this advanced puzzle challenge.

Or not. =)

xobb

Masterful clouds, acorn woodpecker fun & a fawny face

Post winter storm sky, this morning.

Forecast calling for stopped rain, and a return to the weirdly warm temps of highs in the 60s.

And from a wee bit ago, before the rains added more watering hole options for the birds,

we'd been rich in avian visitors...

Two males. The females have black between the cream and red on the head,

so the sexes are very easy to distinguish.

Therefore, lady on the left, gentleman on the right.

Whoop! Waterbowl is slippery (and in need of a refill).

And a cutie (male mule deer fawn) stopped by to lap up breakfast,
namely some of the bird seed we'd flung here and there.

Hope you all are well.

I am feeling VERY grateful for the rain we finally got.

Hooray!

xoxobb

A valiant effort

to rain, but none was forthcoming.

It was nice to have cloud cover, though.

Back to sunny and mid-60s. In JANUARY.

And there's a wildfire in the county.

In what is normally the COLDEST, wettest* month of the year.

xoxobb

*I KNOW we get our coldest temps in Jan, not sure we get the most rain then, but we're Mediterranean, so get the VAST majority of our precipitation in winter, and virtually ZERO June-October. And so far, January is precip-free, which is FREAKY. Setting records all over the place, in this, the first month after the driest year on record for California.

The Stranger

Was supposed to take a photograph of a (presumably human?) stranger, yesterday,

for the photo challenge, but I didn't see one.

Work at the house, & no one darkened our door, yesterday.

So, how 'bout this charming creature, from a few days ago?

We've not been formally introduced.

This spotted towhee was on the back porch during the cold snap,

when snow covered almost everything,

and our porch sported birdseed.

It was a rare treat--this is a pretty people-shy bird.

Since the snow melted, most of the birds have abandoned our porch,

save the ever present dark-eyed juncos, and the occasional western scrub jay.

The spotted towhee is among the missing.

*sigh*

Perhaps I should have called after them, "Don't be a stranger!"

I fling birdseed onto the back porch, and the towhee ignores it.

It doesn't want to be my friend.

I can't blame it.

After all, I have cats.

Professional killers in my house.

Clearly a character flaw.

Smart bird.

xoxobb

late entry--today's sky DEMANDED my attention...

Tonight's sunset.

Okay, okay, I'll take your picture & put you in the blog.

My second entry for the "Sky" theme.

Poor little sky.

Just wants a little attention.

Don't we all?

=) 

xoxobb 

outside in -- Bodega bay, gulls and harbor seals

Day 11 theme - Outside In.

Everyone is outside, yet

the harbor seals are in a pod,

the gulls are in a flock,

the bb is in a fleece.

=)

STUNNING day, out there.

Heaven.

Joy of the beach in winter?

SUPER not crowded.

Except, maybe if you're a harbor seal or a gull.

xoxobb

Shadows

Day 9 of 30 Day Photo Challenge.

Squiggly & weird.

Why, yes, I DID prune that tree myself, how did you know?

Yo no soy arborista.

I yam, however, tall, so trim limbs that threaten my noggin,

or block my kitchen-office view of the garden.

Hitting the road, today,

so if I continue to try & meet this photo challenge,

it is more likely to be via twitter (@biobabbler).

xoxoxobb

P.S. Years ago someone who was learning English (his English was very good)

asked me (16 at the time) to explain the difference between shadow and shade. Made me think.

Interpreting "dance"

So, watching flames dance on a pre-dawn, 14F morning,

I realized I had my photo(s) of the day (yesterday).

While not technically lovely, you get the idea.

And as an alternate, after the sun rose,

I saw the sunlight refracting in the grass ice.

So, that's Day 8 of the 30 Day Photo Challenge (fm @just_go_do_it).

Today's theme, day 9, is Shadows.

xoxobb

Beauty (this is gonna be EASY)

Day 7 of the 30 day photo challenge.

I'm going for everyday beauty,

'cause frankly, it's all around, all the time.

And to prove it, I'm not even LEAVING MY HOUSE to do this.

Western scrub-jay gettin' snacks post 6" snow dump & 14F night.

 Spotted towhee doing the same.

Ditto junco.

 Traffic signs showing mammalian searches for food & love today.

=)

Next photo assignment is Dance.

CAVEAT

To be 100% honest, these may evolve into mere tweets,

'cause I'm traveling this week, visiting, and will be BUSY

w/no internet action most the time.

Which is good, too.

Anyhow, if you've not yet, feel free to

check out @biobabbler (Samantha Biobabbler) on "the twit"

for more from the 30 Days of Photographs (via @just_go_do_it)

in case this site grows still.

xoxoxobb

Day 4: Natural Light

Variegated lighting on my variegated sage = happiness.

Then, one that didn't work as well, but in person is WAY amazing:

rainbows on frozen grasses (24 F) this a.m.

Ya really need to zoom in on it, but wow.

It's really one of those things where if you DON'T go out when it's FRICKIN' FREEZING,

you'll miss it entirely.

And THAT is some natural light that totally rocks my (wool) socks.

Day 4 of 30 Day Challenge = DONE.

Tomorrow's assignment = Friend

xoxoxobb

snow art emergency

I can't not post these, even though I want more photo quiz guesses (see last post).

But, it SNOWED last night. And I want to share these NOW:

 snow + asphalt = art

bunny + tire tracks

Birdy photo quiz: 2 pretty easy, 1 goofy

In the spirit of "listing" wildlife I've seen this year, a quiz

from the photos I took at Merced NWR (California) last month:

Bird #1: who am I?

(western) bluebird of happiness + deer buns

Western bluebird, chillin'.

nice buns! gorgeous bobcat strolls past

I am such a nerd, I tweeted this photo

to Jillian Michaels and her podcast producer, Janice Ungaro,

Silent Sunday

pretending it's spring

Read a blog post recently that recommended growing things indoors,

from kitchen scraps, just to brighten things up while we wait for spring.

So, I planted a few cloves of garlic.

And today, saw THIS!!!

Woo-hoo! So, my 1st garlic plant is coming up.

 It worked: I'm now stoked.

So, I highly recommend it.

Even if you never end up eating anything that you grow.

Tho' I bet you'll eat some of it.

=)

xobb

Awkward v. classic bird angles

One thing models and actors frequently know is their best angles.

I know a few people (who also happen to be beauties) who attribute

their 59 million fabulous photos to knowing their best angles.

I'm pretty sure that for them, that's only part of the story.

However, I experimented a tiny bit with this, and it really can make a difference.

Well, this weekend, I learned that some birds, also,

have more and less flattering angles

(from a silly-human perspective, of course).

Witness: the greater white-fronted goose (a.k.a. specklebelly goose).

Classic shot, flattering:

Less classic shot, less flattering:

easy birding photo quiz + when your friends are silly...

Easy if you've ever encountered this creature before.

First time I did I almost passed out. STUNNING creature.

Not stunning shots, but good enough for ID.

bird one:

bird two:

Silent Sunday: cholla sky