Sunday, February 22, 2015

Winter is Nature's Way…

Winter is nature's way of saying, "Up yours." ~ Robert Byrne

early morning sun2
The morning always has a way of creeping up on me and peeking in my bedroom windows. The sunrise is such a pervert.
~ Jarod Kintz
The sunrise peeking through the branches of a pine tree on the edge of our property, as seen through my bedroom window.






early morning sun
Some people walk into our lives and leave footprints on our hearts. Others walk into our lives and we want to leave footprints on their face.
~ Unknown
As the morning sunlight falls across the snow, it reveals tracks of the human, deer and dog variety. And possibly others.






beautiful notcho
When I found the skull in the woods, the first thing I did was call the police. But then I got curious about it. I picked it up, and started wondering who this person was, and why he had deer horns.
~ Jack Handy
This is one of our frequent track makers. Frank calls him Notchy. I call him Notcho. He doesn't really care who calls him what as long as he can get in on some bird seed action.







Opie's carrots
I ask people why they have deer heads on their walls. They always say because it's such a beautiful animal. There you go. I think my mother is attractive, but I have photographs of her.
~ Ellen DeGeneres
This is Opie. He stands out to us.. or rather, his ears do. He's one of the few who like to nibble on carrots and that's exactly what he's doing right there.







fauxpie
Beer nuts are $1.50 and deer nuts are under a buck.
~ Unknown
For a while, we thought that this one was Opie. Their ears stick out the same way but this ones are notched. At one point, we hadn't seen Opie around for a while, and we figured that something might have happened to his ears because we'd never seen another deer with such a T-shaped head. Then, one day they both came around at the same time and we realized that this one needed to be named Fauxpie - to rhyme with his twin-like pal.







x country skiing
Nature has no mercy at all. Nature says, "I'm going to snow. If you have on a bikini and no snowshoes, that's tough. I am going to snow anyway." ~ Maya Angelou
These two are way on the other side of the bay - walking on water.







snowmobilers
I read about a guy in Michigan this winter who was cruising along on his snow mobile. "Whoo hoo!" Didn't see a barbed wire fence. FOOM - cut his head right off. And I'll be honest with you, my first thought was... That's how I want to go. Having the time of your life, "Whoo hoo!" FOOM. I want the last thought in my head to be, "Hey, check out that headless snow mobile driver. He's got a jacket just like mine."
~ David Crowe
Also across the bay, these guys zipped by in a hurry.






S and R
There is an art to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.
~ Douglas Adams
The Search and Rescue helicopter can often be heard and then seen over our lake - probably in training.






male downy4
My father told me all about the birds and the bees, the liar - I went steady with a woodpecker till I was twenty-one. ~ Bob Hope
Another little local flying machine.







male downy5
Whenever I hear the sparrow chirping, watch the woodpecker chirp, catch a chirping trout, or listen to the sad howl of the chirp rat, I think: Oh boy! I'm going insane again.
~ Jack Handy
He's also quite the eating machine. Doesn't he have a great look with that red spot on his head?







dusk on musky bay
I had a great view of the sunset. At least until father went and changed the channel. Dammit, dad!"
~ Jarod Kintz
The day ends with some more fancy solar artwork - courtesy of the setting sun and clouds.

60 comments:

Cloudia said...

Hey! I spent today on the beach at Waikiki, and now I'm jealous of YOUR beauties. You sure show them nicely!




ALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
<3

Dan said...

I wish my deer would stroll up to the back of the house like yours.

Gorgeous captures, mon amie.

Linda said...

Lovely pictures! The deer look so sweet!

ADRIAN said...

The Woodpecker is more obliging than they are here. Grand shots. It's a male with the red cap. Females have all black heads.

Unknown said...

Hilary: It's clear to me you love your new home, and I can see why. The Deer near my Mom's home are very flighty. The Rescue Helicopter is a source of comfort. Such a nice area!

Andy said...

Nature at your front doorstep. It must be a very enjoyable experience.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

Winter can be so pretty, and the black flies, deerflies and mosquitos are a little less bothersome ;)

Linda said...

wonderful photos, as always

DJan said...

What a fun post! I laughed at some of those quotes, and gazed admiringly at your wildlife. Okie and Fauxpie are probably related, don't you think? :-)

Out on the prairie said...

There is a cleansing spirit with winter. I went out the other morning and even though bitter cold it made me feel very good, enjoying the fresh air.

TexWisGirl said...

laughing at all the quotes. hard to appreciate the beauty you share when i'm fixated on the twisted and goofy stuff in between. :)

CiCi said...

Your humor shines through your words as well as your talent with your camera. Thanks for the good read and sights. I have come to accept I will never be in the same league as you with respect to photography but I am okay with that now. Hugs to you!

joeh said...

You make Winter look like a good thing. Well actually it is, it is just a bit too long.

A Cuban In London said...

Opie and Fauxpie. Beautiful creatures, beautiful pictures. Thanks.

Greetings from London.

The Happy Whisk said...

All great shots.

Great eye.

What Karen Sees said...

You have such beautiful surroundings! How wonderful it must be to observe and enjoy such natural beauty from sunrise to sunset!

Rick Watson said...

Beautiful work Hillary. I love the look on Nacho's face. "Someone want to get a move on and get some corn out here?"
R

Red said...

I like your beginnings and endings with sunrises and sunsets. Maybe I told you that before. I like the beer nuts quote!

Jenny Woolf said...

I think it is beautiful - but then I can't feel the cold!

Ruth Hiebert said...

You live in a most gorgeous spot.All the creatures who visit and want food are so special. Have great day.

Rita said...

Love meeting your critter friends and seeing people walk on water. ;) A lot of those snowmobilers rip about at such crazy speeds it's no surprise we hear about accidents regularly around here. Maybe that's one good thing about little or no snow this winter up here--LOL!
You pick the best quotes!! :):)

stephen Hayes said...

There's poetry in all of these shots. They're beautiful, even to those of us who've had enough of winter.

William Kendall said...

Achingly beautiful shots, and I love the quotes!

The deer would come up to below the bird feeders at my parents' place as well- and they'd even eat a slice of bread if Mom tossed it out into the snow with them out in the yard.

Brian Miller said...

up yours....hahaha...i rather had a good laugh at that...so cool that the deer come so close to you...have not seen ours since the snow..perhaps they found a warmer clime...ha...rather fun on the snow mobile as well...we might need one if this keeps up...ha...

sage said...

Your photos are always beautiful and the only snow I'm getting this winter! I will have to post about my hike this afternoon in the Savannah River National Wildlife Refuge

messymimi said...

Winter looks so pretty through your eyes and lens.

Betsy Brock said...

I'm laughing out loud at the names of the deer...you are hilarious!

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

Such lovely pictures.

What is the last thing that goes through a fly's mind when he hits the car windshield?
His butt.
You're welcome.

June said...

I'm mightily impressed that you have had so much sunshine!
I bet Opie and Fauxpie are twins!

yaya said...

We have a few deer friends who visit, but usually they keep close to the edge of the yard by the Creepy Woods. I can't believe how close they get to your house! I don't want to encourage any close visits since I want to keep a garden. Nice to see the sun. We have some today which then means it's super cold out! Can't have it all I guess! Lovely sunrise and frozen lake shots. Hopefully we can have some warmer temps and maybe Spring will slowly creep up on us! Have a good week!

Anvilcloud said...

Wonderful assortment of photos, quotes and descriptions.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous winter shots.

EG CameraGirl said...

Very cool photos of the deer! And I loved your story about the two look a-likes. And boy did I ever laugh at the quote about footprints!!

photowannabe said...

You have done it again.
Stunning photos and I just love the quotes going along with them. (I have to tell my Hubby the beer nuts one)
Love the sun flare coming through the tree at sunrise,your sweet deer and the charming woodpecker.
Its always a joy to come here.

Linda said...

I love the little birds at the feeder. They are so sweet, and the deer is awesome. It looks like I see tomato cages behind him.

Friko said...

The best place for deer horns is on a deer’s head.

Jenn Jilks said...

What a wonderful set of photos and quotes!

I like the photo of the sleeping lake!
I can't believe other people name deer, too!

Leah J. Utas said...

Nature sure has its character, and its characters.

Gail Dixon said...

...deer nuts under the buck! Insert snort laugh. Too cute. Opie and Fauxpie are precious. So many amazing photos and word plays! Excellent and amusing post, H!

holdingmoments said...

A great series of pictures Hilary, and I love the quotes that accompany them.

I love Ellen DeGeneres quote.

Suldog said...

As always, lovely shots. However, I'm so cold and sick of snow that I'm afraid I failed to appreciate some of them to their fullest extent :-)

Pauline said...

In my next life I'm going to be a deer in your yard - or a bird, or a squirrel :)

Sharon Wagner said...

Ha! Such humorous quotes today. And that woodpecker photo is so crisp and stunning.

ellen abbott said...

snow. and here I am whining about our current dip into winter.

Shammickite said...

Lovely shots of the deer enjoying your generosity during this snowy Ontario winter, but oh, how I wish it would get just a little bit warmer. I see yet another cold weather warning is on for tonight. Brrrr....

Unknown said...

I like the warm sunlight glow of your first few images.

Midlife Roadtripper said...

"The sunrise is such a pervert."

I gotta love that. Just like I have to love the sunset even better. Thanks for sharing the day.

Indrani said...

I like the variety you have for us in this post. Great shots.

Bone said...

Nothing quite like the quiet and beauty of a freshly-fallen snow.

I love the Jack Handy quote. And Jack Handy, in general.

They are calling for us to get 3 to 7 inches of snow today, which is almost unheard of here. Of course, I've yet to see the first flake, but remain surprisingly hopeful.

Shady Del Knight said...

Hi, dear Hilary! As I scrolled down and gazed at these pictures I could feel the penetrating cold. The last time I experienced genuine cold (unlike the sissy Florida cold) was when I flew back home to Pennsylvania to attended my father's funeral in the winter of 2002. The temperature was 17 degrees F as I stood on a wind swept hillside for the service. I shook all day and all that night.

I enjoyed your brilliant photographs of the snowy landscape, the tame deer and the feeding birds along with the humorous captions. This post brought me a lot of pleasure and I thank you, dear friend Hilary!

Optimistic Existentialist said...

The beauty of nature never ceases to amaze me...

Kat said...

Fantastic photos!
Those downy woodpeckers are such little beauties!

Daryl said...

aside from the snow and cold ... you live in a magical world filled with photo ops

Crabby McSlacker said...

Awesome quotes and beautiful pictures! Here it's all boring sunshine and beaches and palm trees... wait, I'm not getting any sympathy? :)

Barb said...

A day in the life of Hilary - I love seeing your sights. That sunrise is just awesome as is the morning light on the snow. I like that woodpecker's red hat! I wonder how long the snowmobilers can be on the ice of the lake - I imagine they know when it starts getting thin?

Mage said...

Ah, you lull me into such comfort. Thanks. :)

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous photos, and thanks for the giggles over your quotes! "Beer nuts are $1.50 and deer nuts are under a buck."
~ Unknown

Gillian Olson said...

Beautiful scenery, love the deer and woodpeckers, but it looks cold!

Betty Manousos said...

as always, gorgeous photos, hilary. and i did enjoy some of the most beautiful sights of winter. thanks to you!

big hugs~

Lisa said...

Gorgeous star. wow.