Fall into Winter

 Hello, Dear Friends. 

I hope that those of you who live in the North, like I do, 

are staying warm and cozy and settling in for the long winter ahead. 

For those of you who live in the South, 

I hope that you are enjoying the lovely flowers and sunshine. 

Every season has its challenges, but also its beauty. 

As we enter into the final month of the year, 

I want to share some of nature's beauty, here at my home in the 

foothills near Mt. Rainier.

We've had our first snows in the higher elevations. 

It's especially pretty at sunrise. 

Migrating hawks stop by to look for a quick meal. 

Sometimes they stay for the season. 

The beautiful Varied Thrush winter here in the lower foothills. They live in the 

higher elevations the rest of the year. 

I love their reedy calls. 

Mt. Rainier with its cap of swirling clouds. 

The mountain forms its own weather, 

and sometimes the clouds are captured in the whirlwind. 

This is a forecast of future rain or snow, 

usually within 24 hours. 

Most of the time it looks like this. 

The mist has a life of its own,

changing every moment. 

It adds a mysterious atmosphere to the forest. 

You can see why the 'Twighlight' movies were

filmed in Washington State. 

With all the rain and mist, mosses thrive on every surface. 

Raindrops look like fairy lights. 

When the sun shines through just right, 

some of the raindrops will turn brilliant colors. 

I've yet to capture this phenomenon on film, 

but I keep trying...

Barberry

Beauty Berry

Berries and rosehips take center stage in winter. 

Big-Leaf Maple wingnuts 

Annas Hummingbirds are year-round residents. 

I feed them sugar water all year, but they also

live on insects, flowers (we actually have flowers that bloom here year-round),

and the sweet sap that is released 

from deciduous trees by our native Western Sapsucker. 

Isn't he pretty? 

 Western Sword Fern stays evergreen and 

carpets the woodland floor. 

Bracken fern nearby turns golden and dies back. 

Can you see my American Eskimo dog, Kai 

between the trunks of Western Red Cedar? 

A Stellar Jay with an insect in his beak. They love carpenter ants and termites, 

so are very beneficial. 

This is one of a nesting pair of Stellar Jays that live on the property. 

These beautiful birds are the watchdogs of the forest, warning 

the residents when Hawks are around by imitating 

their calls. 

They warn of Ravens and Eagles by imitating 

the way they clack their bills together. 

It creates a unique sound similar to 

hollow bamboo sticks banging together. 

I've watched little birds dive for cover when 

they sound the alarm. 

Like this pretty guy - a Spotted Towhee. 

He has red eyes and white spots on his wings. 

This is another bird that has a reedy call. 

We also have a pair of Ravens who nest in a neighboring hill. 

This is their offspring. 

I see them flying together every day with junior alongside. 

Sometimes junior gets separated and will sit 

in the treetops and cry. 

These are large birds, much larger than a crow. 

Can you see him in the treetop, second from left? 

Off he goes...

One morning recently, I noticed from my deck, a large flock of crows 

swirling around and around above me. 

They seemed to be focused on one large fir tree in particular. 

They were screeching and carrying on, 

and I had my suspicions as to why. 

They stayed for about an hour, then mysteriously flew 

away together. 

This was unusual, as I normally don't see flocks of crows here. 

My suspicions were confirmed a little while later, when I happened 

to see a Bald Eagle fly away from the direction of the fir tree.

(I was out on the deck planting winter pansies.) 

He must have sadly caught a crow, which was the reason for their distress. 

I've seen the eagle several times since, 

but not the crows. 

I spied this beautiful girl from my kitchen window the other morning. 

You can see that she spied me, also! 

She was eating my ivy along the walkway, which I didn't really 

appreciate, so I shooed her away. 

I've seen her with her half-grown doe fawn nibbling on my gardens

the last few days. I enjoy seeing them and don't mind 

their pruning, except when they come too close to the house. 

I don't want them to feel too comfortable around people. 

For their own safety. 

xx

They are Blacktail deer. 

One afternoon a couple of weeks ago, I was looking out that same 

kitchen window when I saw movement at the edge of the clearing 

we call the 'front lawn'. Lol!

There are wild plum trees there. 

As I zoomed in with my camera, I could see this little family 

come into focus. 

A mother Racoon and her three offspring. 

They were very busy eating the fallen fruit and climbing the trees

to shake down more. 

I loved watching them and was glad that my little trees 

 provided a much-needed meal. 

I love all God's creatures and try to always be kind and compassionate. 

I even catch and release spiders that find their way inside.

(Cover with a dedicated see-through plastic food container and carefully slide 

a sturdy, thin piece of cardboard underneath. Carry outside. Make sure you open

the door before-hand or have a partner to do it for you!) 

I rescue insects that fall into buckets and the bird bath, too. 

A leaf is good for this. 

We are given the gift of living on this beautiful Earth

and I believe it is our duty to honor that by taking good care of it

and not take it for granted. 

Nature needs all the help she can get right now. 

I know that all of you, Dear Friends, feel the same. 

We are old souls that have found each other. 

It's so important now, more than ever, to show kindness 

and compassion in a world that's sadly lacking in these qualities. 

And please, Dear Friends, take good care of yourselves and one another.

We are all in this together.  

xx

Linking with: Saturdays Critters

 "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished."

- Lao Tzu -

"Everything you can imagine, nature has already created."

- Albert Einstein -

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one

thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, 

we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. 

All things connect."

- Chief Seattle -

xx