Through my kitchen window: A Pileated Woodpecker

Andy and I were both in the basement the other day when we heard a loud thud from upstairs.  It sounded like something had fallen up there.  Andy went to check it out, and called for me to come and see what it was.  This bird was pounding at the porch post.  It's a pileated woodpecker.   I think I've heard them in the woods from time to time, but I've never seen one before. 

Autumn Beauty

For a week or so we have been enjoying beautiful summer like weather here.  Today it is cool and fall like, but before the weather changed we went over to the "Pickerel Lake-Fred Meijer Nature Reserve" to walk around the lake and enjoy the beautiful fall colors.  This is one of my favorite places to walk,  It's gorgeous in any season, but fall really shines here.
We walked around the lake, but there are other trails as well.

 The first thing we noticed were these three swans hanging around next to the boardwalk.   They were evidently posing for pictures.

Fall Getaway

A few weeks ago Andy and I spent a few days up in the UP and in Northern Ontario.  We took the Agawa Canyon train trip and then spent a few days driving around the UP.  The train trip was fun, but it was a little early for good fall color, which was a bit of a disappointment.

We had planned to visit Mackinac Island while we were up there, but it was really too cold for a trip to the island.  Instead we went to Tahquamenon Falls and visited a few lighthouses.

                                                  Old Mission Point Light House

                                               A couple of shots in Tahquamenon Falls State Park

                                                       Old Makinac Point Light House

                                                     McGulpins Point Light House

Through My Kitchen Window

Isn't this a pretty bird?  I think its an indigo bunting.  I see these birds every spring, but they only seem to stay here for a few weeks.

Andy took this picture through the kitchen window.

An Owl!!

I woke up this morning to the fluttering of wings outside the window.  A minute later one of the birds landed in a nearby tree and I saw that it was an owl.  It sat there for quite a long time, moving only its head.  Owls can swivel their heads quite a ways.  At times it looked like it had turned its head completely around to look behind it.  This owl blended into the tree so well, that at one point a blue jay landed on it's head.  The blue jay moved on quite quickly!  The picture was taken through the window, (and in the rain), so it's not the best, but you definitely see that it is an owl.

Snow-Snow-Snow!!

According to the news stations around here, the snowstorm we had last night and this morning, was record breaking.  Now, evidently, they only meant record breaking for Feb 2nd.  Apparently the record is some paltry bit of snow, 2.1 inches, is what I heard on one station.  Never-the-less, we got a lot of snow in the past 24 hours.  I'd guess its somewhere between 15 and 18 inches, on top of what we already had.

  Looking out the front door

 Snow piled on the table on the back deck

This last picture is our front yard, taken from the family room window.

Once it stopped snowing, the sun came out and it was bright and cheerful.  And this evening, when I decided to take these pictures, I noticed the end of a pretty sunset.  It's hard to believe that in only a few months, it will be spring, and pretty soon, I'll be complaining about the heat!

Lots more flowers in bloom

My hydrangeas are exceptionally prolific this year.

Here are endless summer (pink) and Annabelle hydrangeas (white). The Annabelle hydrangeas are one of the most carefree flowers I've ever grown. I cut a bunch of them every fall and put them in vases to dry. They turn a beautiful ivory color and I keep them all winter.

A Walk in the Garden

Sweet William
Coreopsis
I can practically smell the sweet scent of this pink peony.

Still more blooms

Lots more things in bloom this week. I didn't get pictures of all of them, but here are a few. More poppies, red ones this time.
A purple iris. these are taller than the yellow ones I have, and have much skinnier leaves. the leaves are almost grass like.They don't multiply as quickly as the yellow ones either.
This is known to me as Jupiter's Beard. I can't remeber what the real name of it is.
A flowering shrub, Wiegella.
The first rose of the season.

A Winter Walk

We've had unusually nice weather for the past week or so. Sunshine in winter can be rare here, but it has been abundant lately. On Saturday, Andy and I went for a walk on a part of the White Pine Trail which runs north from Rockford, along the Rogue River. There were quite a few people out on the trail, biking and walking. The trail was clear, although there is still a fair amount of snow on the ground.
The sky was a beautiful shade of blue, and the river was sparkling in the sunlight. We could hear the birds singing and the honking of Canada Geese. We only saw two geese on the river, but it sounded like there was a whole flock somewhere around. There was also a lone mallard swimming lazily around and some tiny animal that appeared to be playing in the water, running around on the shore of a little "island" in the middle of the river and then getting into the water to swim in circles for a few minutes. We forgot to bring binoculars, so we have no idea what it was. We were wondering if it could be a baby otter or muskrat. It seems like it might be a little early in the season for animal babies yet, though.

It's winter!

Up until yesterday we had been enjoying unseasonably warm weather for this time of year. In fact our grass was still green and we've only had a few frosty mornings.
This morning we awoke to around 10 inches of snow on the ground, and it has been snowing most of the day. No wonder my snowman looks so happy. He's sitting on the front porch on a bench that my dad made me a few years ago.
I'm not overly fond of snow, but it is very pretty. It's a perfect day to sit by the fire and read a good book. (which is exactly what I'm going to do after this!)

A November Sunset

Our weather has been exceptionally nice the past few days. It's hard to believe it's November. Last night the sunset was really beautiful.

Smoky MountainsVacation

We spent the last week in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park area. Fall is such a gorgeous time of year to visit there.

The first two pictures were taken along the Gatlinburg bypass road, and the other two were taken in the park.

The second picture from the bottom, (the road through the trees) represents one of my favorite scenes. The road through the trees seems so peaceful, and I love the idea of not knowing what's beyond the bend.

The last picture is the view from a picnic area (Metcalf Bottoms) where we ate lunch one day. Even though it was cold and rainy here in Michigan it was 75 degrees and sunny in Tennessee that day.