Shenandoah Valley snowy winter day

 The storm on January 21, 2014, left 5 inches of snow at our house in Augusta County, a fine, powdery snow that swirled in the air late in the day as winds kicked up. Today's winter wonderland sparkled in the bright, cold sunshine after an overnight low of 0 and a daytime high of 19.

 I bundled up and headed outdoors with my camera to check out the nooks and crannies of our property. The temperature was 17 and the snow was light and fluffy. The sun was bright in the blue sky but not very warming in the frigid air.

 Local birds have always been a source of enjoyment as they gather at the bird feeder and heated bird bath -- cardinals, blue jays, juncos, tufted titmice, wrens, woodpeckers, doves, bluebirds, and this year, for the first time (for us), robins. Crows and grackles like to gather, too, running off the song birds.

 Almost all the nandina berries, plentiful just a month ago, have been consumed by birds.

 Lone junco stands on the tip of a picket waiting his turn at the feeder.

 This little wren was on the suet feeder.

 The cardinals came out as I stood in the yard watching the feeder ... half a dozen crimson-colored males with their more subdued female partners.

 They would swoop down to the feeder, then fly back to tree branches to eat the seeds.

There's a beauty in winter that truly comes out when it snows. The winter woods provide expansive views of the horizon as well as a peek onto the forest floor that is obscured by foliage during warmer times of the year.

Snow muffles sound ... the quiet can fill your senses along with the cold. The woods beckon ... birds twitter ... it's fun to follow a variety of animal tracks. Today I saw tracks that belonged to rabbits, deer, and various birds. Dark shadows created a mosaic of interesting patterns across the snow. Icicles sparkled from fences ... tree limbs creaked in the wind.

I was lost in the winter wonderland that some take for granted and some despise. This week's cold temps will make sure the snow sticks around for a while unlike snows in late February and March. Indeed, it is 7:00 this evening and the outdoor temperature is already in single digits. Perhaps we will be much colder than last night's low of zero.

In cold climates and ski resorts winter is celebrated with strings of outdoors lights that brighten the dark nights, gatherings of friends, and entertaining. Enjoy the snow ... take a walk in the woods ... celebrate winter in the Shenandoah Valley!

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
January 22, 2014

Guest Post: Never let a 60-degree January day go to waste

Would you believe that on this 60 degree day the recent nearly zero cold  ...

... did not deter the Star of David bulbs from opening.

In addition the jonquils are not far behind.

 The heater in the birdbath keeps the H2O liquid ...

... so the Acorn birdhouse’s next tenant won’t have far to go for a bath/drink/both, their choice!

Guest post & photos by my step-dad
Richmond, Virginia
January 13, 2014

Traffic at the bird feeder

Cardinals, woodpeckers, gold finches, juncos, and more at the bird feeder.

After a skiff of snow overnight, the bird feeder was busy this morning as a colorful variety of our feathered friends stopped by to enjoy the smorgasboard of goodies. They caught my attention as I sat at my computer, watching eight or ten cardinals, male and female, flit from nearby branches to the feeder and back.

The cardinals were joined by bluejays, juncos, titmouse, a red-headed woodpecker as well as a little downy woodpecker, and gold finches, some beginning to change back to their summer yellow coloring from the drab olive winter coat ... and doves strutted on the ground picking at seeds that had dropped from above.

The feeder had been raided in recent days by flocks of black starlings that run off the other birds ... but they were nowhere in sight this morning. Sometimes a mockingbird will take over and stand guard, running off any birds that try to land and feed, but none were around today.

Today it was peaceful as I watched the resident birds come and go in these final weeks before spring makes it easier for them to find food in the surrounding woods and fields.