Spear'd One!

Thank you to this pretty Chickadee for posing with a black oil seed impaled on its beak.

Chickadee taking a one second rest.

As anyone who's tried to capture an image of a chickadee will attest these critters are fast! It's rare when one will pause for more than one second before a hectic flit to another branch. About the only variation from this schedule is when they've retrieved a black oil sunflower seed from the feeder and now, to open it, must trap it between their "talons" and the branch and whack away at it with their beak until they get to the "meat" inside. Reminds me of my attempts to open a package of frozen food.

Chickadees are also difficult to photograph well. Their heads and eyes are dead matt black while their cheeks are almost pure fluffy white. Expose for the black and the white parts will disappear. Expose for the white part and the head has all the charm of a lump of coal. They also have the uncanny knack of pointing their tail end toward the camera most of the time.

Moi and Miss "S"

Couple of pics during the recent cold spell. Miss "S" recently has declined many invitations to walk the trails. I think she's calculated that the vague possibility that something interesting will jump out in front of her isn't worth the pain on her tender tootsies. She has the instincts of a barn cat and the constitution of a wuspus.
Thanks to "you know who" for the photos.