Some Clydesdales

I've seen the Clydesdales in the fields for several years now, never stopped to photograph them.  Last Saturday we set out with just that in mind - drove up the back way towards Lynden.  It was a great day for photographs - eagles, tractors, lots of ice - and finally the Clydesdales - standing in their field.  Sunnier weather would have been nice, green grass would have been prettier - but there were the big black Clydesdales - in all their splendor. For a horse, it is hard to beat a Clydesdale - that's for sure!

The first horse - oh they are grand!

Strike a pose!  That is ice in the field - it was a very cold day .  .  .

Beautiful face - lovely feet.  .  .  

I'm fascinated by the feet - they remind me of those fuzzy boots that were popular in the 70s.  Everyone looked like bigfoot.

This fellow stood in the field and began lifting just one foot - up and then back down.  .  . 

Again

Again

Once more .  .  .

Again

Again

And again - I don't know what he was doing - but he kept at it for about 10 minutes.

Then he lifted the other back leg - but only once, good thing I had the camera ready.

I like the black and white on this one .  .  .

 

Beautiful!

These two stood like this the entire time we were there - which was about 30 minutes.  They never put their heads down to eat - they never moved their heads to look at anything or anyone - just stood there.

One of them had a piece of grass hanging from his mouth the whole time.  .  .

Leg lifter is in the background .  .  .

Nice feet - it was a good horse day!

And then we heard later that there were more Clydesdales at another location - we are off on Saturday to find them.

Do you have a favorite horse?

Weekly To Shot - #65 - Snow Geese Landing

We often go to Skagit County, just south of here - to look for Trumpeter Swans, Eagles and Snow Geese.  Last weekend we found lots of swans, more than usual, and 10 or 12 Bald Eagles - then in the distance we saw this great flock of Snow Geese.  Thousands of them - the sound is magical, there is the honking and squawking of the near geese, and the rumble and whisper of the whole flock - it is like a symphony and we could listen forever.

I shot about 250 pictures that day, and it was hard to pick one, but I love the three landing Snow Geese, they are landing on the edge of a huge flock, and even when they land in the middle of a flock that is very dense, they never land on top of each other - beautiful and clever birds.  If you are anywhere near Skagit County in Washington you should make a trip to see these magnificent birds - it is a life changing experience.  We've had them all fly up at once - thousands of them - and fly right over us - unbelievable.

This is just to give you an idea of the size of the flock - and this is about one tenth of the flock!

Weekly Top Shot

Snow Day

I woke up this morning to a strange, soft light - looked out the window - and it was SNOWING and snowing hard.  It is not supposed to last so I quickly got out the camera and started taking pictures - all through the windows, as I don't want to chance slipping in the snow.  I'm finding that there are some great shots through the window.

I like how I can see the snowflakes falling in these two shots.  These trees are across the street from our house.

And on my deck, things are looking chilly - poor little bird on a sunflower - shiver shiver .  .  .

I love the shapes of the cushion-less chairs in the snow (and yes, that is a dead elephant on the chair in back)

A lacy deck table - with the small amount of snow we got it didn't cover all the holes in the design on the table.

If you need to tie up your boat - pull up to our deck and use this cleat - it comes from our son-in-law Jason's father, just perfect for a PNW deck.

These gnomes are busy trying to sweep up the snow - well one of them is - the other seems to be resting on his laurels.

Between our house and the neighbor's in back, there is an Oso Berry bush growing.  It is the first to leaf out in spring - because it usually grows in the understory in the forests and you can already see the little buds getting ready to sprout.  The lichen on the branch is covered with the fresh snow.

Our neighbors haven't taken down their christmas lights yet - and they leave them on day and night - but it did make a good picture of the Oso Berry bush with snow and the lights in the background.

How is your weather? 

Some Things Around My House

For therapy for my back surgery I am supposed to walk at least half an hour a day - and with rain and cold and slick surfaces outdoors, I am doing all my walking indoors.  Today I took my camera with me and thought you'd like to see what I pass while I'm walking.

This is a cute little cabbage soup tureen.  It is hand made and just the size for serving soup, or stuffing, or potatoes when we have company.

Close up of the plate under the tureen .  .  .

Now you can see inside .  .  .

Next I passed by my little jar of colored pencils.  These are water color pencils, you can draw with them and then use a wet brush to blend, or you can wipe the brush across the pencil and use the paint that way.  They are my favorite water colors.

The pencils took a little walk with me over to the white kitchen counter - they wanted to see how wonderful they would look against white - pretty nice I'd say, although they moved around quite a bit, trying to see who could be in the front, they still look great.

Look here - Salt and Pepper and Pepper and Pepper.  .  . 

I love pretty little glass bottles - great for a single flower - or a bouquet of violets in the spring or a feather or two.

Open wide.  .  .

And here are the little bottles with their friend, the Upside Down Candy Dish.

Right  side up - but where is the candy?



So pretty - this deserved a close up.  And that's my trip around the house today - let's see what tomorrow brings.

Now I'm off to learn how to change the fonts on my blog - that should be fun, don't you think?

Weekly Top Shot - Seagull landing

I'm fascinated with the feathers of seagulls - such wonderful designs, made by nature - this one was hovering above the waves as they splashed against the rocks, jumping up as each wave hit.

Sharing today with - Weekly Top Shot

Weekly Top Shot - a sweet deer

This is my first attempt at a post since my back surgery just over a month ago.  I obviously didn't take this photo this week - but it is one of my favorites from this spring.  This little deer was in our park as we were driving in - and didn't seem the least bit bothered by cars stopping to take pictures.

Linking to  The View From Right Here 

No Pictures Today

No pictures today - no fun adventures - no exciting new bird views - I've been brought down by a bird photo.  Well, not brought down - but sidelined for sure.


First, thanks to all that have emailed, texted and called, wondering where I have been. It makes me feel good to know you care - and thank you to those that continue to check my blog for a new post.

But there won't be a new post for a while yet - and not very often even then.  I had back surgery on Nov. 27 after a painful trip to the ER in the ambulance (those things are not built for comfort, let me tell you). The surgery was successful and now the long, slow recovery.  I have my laptop on a wooden tv tray, tilted towards my lap, as I type this note. Not the most comfortable way to type - but it is working for a bit anyway.  And I can't sit in one position very long anyway/

Physical therapy, visits to the acupunturists, doctor visits, hospital bed and nice walker - and helpful family and friends - those are my companions for now - later I'll be back to share photos when I can get out and take more.

Have a very wonderful holiday - and thanks for checking in with me.