JANUARY 31, 2013

It was a very windy and cold, but sunny afternoon at the Riverwalk this afternoon. The river was high and the geese had taken refuge on the fields near Dan Daniel Park. A small group of ducks were in a cove, but no water fowl were braving the heavy rapids in the center of the river. Even the great blue heron I usually see was not there since it perches in the river had been covered with water. Near the Public Works department, a mockingbird was watching us closely from the bush with the red berries. It posed for my camera for a short time, lost interest, and then flew deeper into the bush and out of sight. On the way out of the park, I saw a few birds in a tree on my left. I stopped the car, rolled down the window and took some photos of a bluebird and a white-throated sparrow that were nicely lighted with the afternoon sun. It was another great day on the Riverwalk trail.

January 18, 2013

The river, after the week of rain and then yesterday's snow, has swollen beyond its banks on many sections of the Riverwalk. The geese hug the shoreline a the rapid river speeds past, and the birds hang high up in the trees. Deer come down from the hills to drink from temporary ponds created in areas that had been dry meadowland. This afternoon, a small bluebird caught my eye as it jumped from a tree into a newly created pond, stood there, and then jump up to fly back into the nearby tree. It was a beautiful sight in the winter world where the snow had melted into puddles and the river was encroaching upon the land. It was another good day on the Riverwalk.

January 1, 2013

As the sun shines brightly on this small bluebird, the richness of it color could be appreciated.