January 7-2017 and late December 2016

I'm going to begin with shots I've taken today.



The sun finally peaked out for the afternoon.



We've had some of the most beautiful conditions.



Since the storm began as rain yesterday there have been icicles.



We had a little bit of everything, rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow.



Since the temperatures were above freezing when the storm started, the accumulation was less since it took awhile for the temperatures to drop, however, there's a layer of ice under the snow on the roads which keeps me from driving.



It's going to be very cold for the rest of the weekend so I'm helping the birds.



The extreme range of temperature this winter has been bizarre even for North Carolina (we frequently have swings but not this big).



If the temperatures that are forecast actually happen there will be a 60 degree difference between the low tomorrow night and the high on Friday.



I've been watching the low on Sunday because it is extreme for here.



At one point the weather channel said 0 Fahrenheit (-17.2 Celsius). 



The forecast has improved a little because now they are saying 6 Fahrenheit (-14.4 Celsius). 



Sometimes I think if I don't talk about the weather there's no other current topic that won't bring my blood pressure up.



That's not strictly true since I can talk about the birds.



Although being a bird this time of the year isn't easy. The cedar waxwings (below) were here at the end of December but they've left for better pickings. 



The shot above and the rest of the shots were taken at the end of 2016. All the others were taken today (January 7, 2017).



We had a lot of great clouds in December.



The flicker and American robins below seem to get along.



This post is several combined ones I've had in mind.



I don't get around to blogging much so when I do they end up being long.



I love mackerel clouds like the one above.



I hope 2017 will be a surprise and turn out to be  a good year.

2016 winding down

Another year prepares to bite the dust.



I hope we will move into a peaceful 2017.



I have reached the age where uneventful is a good thing.



I certainly wasn't always like that.



For me the big events I enjoy are happenings like the gulls returning to the lake for the winter.



It's odd the way gulls leave the lake near my house in the spring and return in the winter.



Another change at the lake is the Canada Geese move away from the sandbars at the bridge in the winter and hangout on the dam and in the fields.



The Canada Geese return to the long bridge and sandbar side after their babies are starting to grow up and sometime before then the gulls go away until the next winter. 



I've never quite been able to figure out the reason for these shifts.



Cormorants are another group that tend to disappear in the summer and come back in the fall. 



The gulls and cormorants hang out on the sandbars that were full of geese until about a month ago when the geese moved to the other part of the lake. The mallards tend to hang out pretty much anywhere around the lake without visible changes by season.

November 26 through December 10, 2016

I'm going to start with shots I took this morning and move back to the end of fall.



The shot above of the American Robin was planned. I didn't realize I'd caught a bird in the next shot until I uploaded to my computer.



The frost on my car almost looks like wrapping paper to me.



I took the next few shots at work with my cell phone.



The clouds were wonderful.



I wish I had my camera with me but my cell phone does a fair job.



I took the next shot after I got home with my camera.



I love capturing robins with wide open mouths.



I try to give the birds fresh water in the winter as well as the summer.



There are a lot of robins although in the winter I usually see them in the trees more that at the bird bath.



I didn't even see the titmouse below until after I took the picture of the robin.



The next one is a rufous sided towhee (female).



I can't remember what kind of woodpecker I caught below.



I think the next bird is a grackle.



I like the hint of vivid color.



Male cardinals are one of my favorite birds to capture when it snows. It hasn't snowed here yet and didn't turn very cold until this past week.



Next are finches, a sparrow (I think) and an american robin.



A couple of days after I took the shot below the leaves fell off the trees in a hard rain.



The next shot was taken at the Neuse River trail.



As I keep mentioning we had an unusually late fall but the leaves have finally fallen.



Last but not least is my neighbor's Japanese Maple.