Weekly Paper Issue #337

I started this blog in 2005, so this is the end of the 6th year of publication and the last post of 2010.

One of the hardest birds to try to get a picture of are the crows. Not only do they absorb all the light because they are black but they are very wary birds that seldom allow humans to get within 30 feet of them. So, I spent the last week or so trying to see what I could get. This is one of the first and better shots I've captured so far.

Early Friday afternoon, about an hour or two after I'd filled all the bird feeders and tossed out some shelled corn and old apples for the deer, these two doe and a young buck stopped in to partake of the Christmas goodies.

The young buck with his nose down to the ground warily checks out all the apples laying before him.

It didn't take the deer long to get over their skiddishness once they started chomping down the apples.

Always on the lookout for trouble, this does' ears perked up at the slightest sound.

Of all the Christmas shopping I did this year, getting this Norfolk Island pine for 6 bucks was the best deal I found.

Norfolk Island Pine

The warm, sunny weather over the last couple of days has brought the snow frogs to the surface for a little R&R.

Maybe it's because of the smile on his face, but Buddha always looks warm.

My favorite Christmas present this year is already in service.

Purple Finch sitting on a branch in a lightly falling snow on Christmas Day.

Male Downy Woodpecker heading to the suet feeder.

Sometimes it gets a little bit busier at the suet feeder than you can imagine. In this shot the female Downy woodpecker that is flying away at the bottom of the picture, after being chased by the male Hairy woodpecker as he's about to land on the feeder. The Black-capped chickadee passing at the top of the frame wants absolutely no part of this.

These next three photographs are a set and were shot only hundreds of a second apart.

Male Red-bellied Woodpecker makes a perfect landing.

Three Days Into Winter

Here we are just a few days before Christmas and we still have snow on the ground. Things are looking good for the holidays. At least here in the mountains, that is.

Season's Greetings
This is a snow globe sitting in front of the tv lite by the sun coming in the window using a point and shot camera set on macro.

The next three photographs were shot down at our spring. You can see the same pattern in all the pictures.

Male Purple Finch

A Tufted Titmouse flies through the trees on the way to the feeders.

Wayne Feeds Sign hanging on a wall of a feed mill still in business in the historical area of Hollidaysburg, PA.

Several years ago I asked an antique dealer in Duncansville if I could play in his yard if I behaved myself. He gave me his permission and I've stopped almost every time I pass through town now and take a few pictures.

Head of an eagle.

Art is where you find it.

This old wooden wagon wheel was once a hanging lamp.

One of several buildings owned by David Donnellly filled with all kinds of things from the past.


Switcher used by the Everett Railroad Company.

With it's eye fixed on a sunflower feeder, a Sharp-shinned Hawk waits for a meal.

The distance between the Sharp-shinned Hawk and the feeder is 7 feet.

Tuesday was the first day of Winter and the shortest day of the year. It's all up hill from here.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Prosperous New Year!

Snowy - Sunny - Cloudy

On top of Maggie Miller Hill looking south.

Old Miller Road on the way to the grocery store.

Old Miller Road on the way back from the grocery store.

Red white-faced steers in a pasture down the road from us.

Old barn at Buzzards Crossroads.
Depending upon which way you turn at this intersection you can go to Carrolltown, Patton, Hastings, or Route 36.

At the local butcher shop --

Going down the hill to the butcher shop.

This old apple tree still produces some fruit.

Hide house where the hides are salted and stored for curing.

If the butcher shop sat any lower it would be under water.

St. Bernard's Cemetery, Elder Township, Cambria County, PA.

Home Sweet Home.

Female Hairy Woodpecker heading towards the suet feeder.

Our one and only Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker stopped at the feeders on its way south for the winter. We seem to get one Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker and one Starling every winter.

Red-bellied Woodpecker leaves the suet feeder with a nice piece of food in its mouth.

Male Downy Woodpecker.

Mourning Dove coming in for a landing on the bird feeder.

I think this grey squirrel has such a long, bushy tail because it eats so well at the bird feeders.