December 28, 2019
In the span of just eight days, from December 19th to December 26th, my picture walk weather went from a frigid 16 degrees and 20 mile an hour winds to a balmy 61 degrees and no wind at all!
Black-capped Chickadee 
Bluejay
White-breasted Nuthatch 
Female Cardinal
Downy Woodpecker 
Hairy Woodpecker
From the 19th to the 26th, I went from wearing two, three and four layers of clothing (depending on what body part I was trying to keep warm) to wearing almost nothing—no hat, no mittens, no earmuffs! It was warmer here in Michigan on Christmas day than it was in southern California! Go figure!
The hardest part of taking pictures on a really cold day, is keeping the fingers of my right hand from totally freezing off. My pointer finger (and its nearby friends) risk a bit of frostbite every time they leave the warmth and security of my mitten. Unfortunately, they are forced to venture out every single time I have to change the settings on my camera. What saved them on December 19th, though, was an early Christmas gift from my husband—a pair of toasty, re-chargeable hand warmers!
Red Squirrel 
Fox Squirrel
Winter days in Michigan, even when the weather is balmy and clear, is a challenging time to find things to photograph. I usually have to look long and hard to find anything at all. Fortunately, I enjoy the ‘hunt’. It’s a very relaxing endeavor to go on a picture walk because all of my attention is focused on the looking. When I actually do find something, my heart skips a beat —even if it’s ‘just another deer’ or ‘just another sparrow’. The subjects may be the same as yesterday but everything else is different—a different day, a different location, a different set of weather conditions. So I snap away to my heart’s content adding another hundred pictures to my rapidly expanding collection.
There were dozens of these birds all gathered at the tops of the trees.
I had been admiring the bright red sumac and wishing that a bird would land on one –and then this bluebird happened along!
I was touched by the fact that beautiful swan let me get within a few feet of it without being scared off– so that I could take pictures of the ducks out on the pond!
Almost 2 weeks ago here in St. Louis the school had two snow days and on Christmas is was 65°F! I know what you mean about these weather extremes.
Wonderful pictures, especially like the first one of the mute swan. So beautiful. Happy holidays to you!
Thanks, Sheila! I appreciate your feedback. Happy New year to you!
Ah, the weather is not from my childhood. We haven’t had a real snow yet here in Western PA. And the hunt is the best part. Finding a gem is awesome. Great photos as always.
Thanks!