From Texas to Tennessee

My oldest son and his family live in Galveston, Texas.  Last week, he called to tell me that he had seen some Sandhill Cranes ---which are wintering in his area.  He was so excited (just like I would have been) --and then sent me some pictures.  AND--of course,  I have to share them with you today.

Of the 15 species of cranes in existence,  Sandhill Cranes are the most abundant and Whooping Cranes are the rarest.  These two are the only crane species in North America,  and both winter in Texas.

As bird species go,  Sandhill Cranes are ancient.  According to the International Crane Foundation,  a crane fossil from Miocene formations thought to be about 10 million years old was found in Nebraska and is structurally identical to the Sandhill crane,  making it the oldest known still surviving bird species.

Male and female cranes look identical, but males are usually larger than females.  Smaller Sandhills average about 6-7 pounds and stand 3 to 3.5 feet tall.  The largest average 10 to 14 pounds and are 4.5 to 5 feet tall.   The lifespan of the Sandhill Crane is up to 20 years.

Thanks Bert for sharing your photos with us today!!!!




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Well,   we don't have Sandhill Cranes in Tennessee,  but we do have lots of birds at our feeders when it snows.  I work hard at keeping enough food out for them --and they really enjoy it.  Sometimes,  there are as many as 30-40 little birds at the feeders during these times.  The one above just shows a few of them.

Birds I saw at the feeders yesterday:  Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers,  Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers,  Carolina Wrens,  Song Sparrows,  Tufted Titmice,  Carolina Chickadees,  White-breasted Nuthatches,  Cardinals,  Bluebirds,  Mourning Doves, House Finches,  Goldfinches, and  a Junco.   Our biggest group this year are the finches.

This cute little Dark-eyed Junco looks like he is burying himself in the snow.   I was excited to see him --since we have so few Juncos here.

AND--here's another new woodpecker at my feeders!!!  This guy is a Hairy Woodpecker. The Hairys look alot like the Downys  but are much larger... Look at his LONG beak.  I was pleased that he came to the suet feeder.

And finally,  here is a new bird I captured at a distance on Sunday morning.  When all of the little birds disappear quickly,  I know that there is a hawk around.  This is the first time I have seen him --and was able to get his picture using my long lens and then cropping it a little.  This beauty is a Red-tailed Hawk --and they are pretty --BUT I don't like them around my feeders!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed seeing some birds from Texas and from Tennessee.  I love seeing all of our birds here --but I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to see a Sandhill Crane in person.  Wow!!!

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I 'must' show you another picture of our pretty snow.. We ended up with from 6-8 inches --so of course,  I took more pictures.  It was EXTREMELY cold though (wind chills below zero),  so we didn't stay outside very long.    The picture above shows two of our wreaths and the holly bushes --all filled with snow!!!

Have a fabulous day --and wherever you are,  stay WARM!!!!
Hugs,

Our Home--All Decked Out for Christmas

Today I will share with you some of our outside pictures in and around our home --all lit up for Christmas.  I took this picture right before dark--so you could see the big red bow which hangs on our lamppost.  You can also see all three of our wreaths now.

Here is a picture showing our home --as it continues to get darker outside.

And,  now it is obviously DARK outside...  You can't see the big red bows in the the windows above the candles (garage and the window on the right next to the bird feeder) --but they add color during the daytime.

We have garland, bows and lights strung all across the deck --which we also enjoy seeing at nights while looking out of our sliding glass doors.

I stood in the back yard and took this picture of the garland on the deck --and also the Christmas tree inside our home.  This is not a very good picture --but I wanted to include it to show you the lights from the back.  You can also see some of my bird feeders.

Here  is our newest wreath --all lit up for you.  Isn't it gorgeous?

And here is the first wreath all lit up --which we bought three years ago for the front of our home.   The other wreath is now my header.   Several people said that they liked it the best --so I decided to feature it as the header.

Hope you enjoyed seeing more of our Christmas decorations. I enjoy decorating for Christmas so much these days.  As I have told several of you in blogs,  gift-giving is not what is important to us at Christmas.  We just choose not to spend our money that way, although we do small gifts for each other and for family and friends.  However,  we DO decorate --and truly love it... That makes Christmas special for us.

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LET IT SNOW..... This picture was taken yesterday afternoon.  We have lots of snow here now along with bitter cold temperatures...  I love the snow--but not sure I like this cold cold weather!!!!!  Don't you love seeing the snowflakes in the picture???  It felt almost like a blizzard out there taking pictures!!!! ha

Have a tremendous day!
Hugs,