Today is a balmy 5C (41F) winter day. Sunny with no wind, and the Pond is teeming with life and beauty. For the first time in two months, I take my camera out and soak up the scenery.
The chickadees which flutter even in -20’s temperatures are out in full force. Glad to see woodpeckers too, basking in the sunlight:
Yes, those are buds on the branches!
Glad to see a family of deer out enjoying the afternoon sun. This one comes right up to me, maybe hoping for a snack:
While I’m glad to see the woods teeming with activities, what capture my attention are the ice patches, melting and dripping in the warmth of this mid-winter afternoon:
Buds on tree branches and melting ice in January? Just a mid-winter interlude of hope… like a mirage in the desert. No matter, I’m enjoying every bit of this new year blessing.
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Ripple Effects 
Your photos remind me so much of playing in a creek that ran along the east side of our farmhouse in northwest Missouri when I was growing up. I miss that. Thank you.
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Missouri? That’s almost 2,000 miles from us who are above the 49th parallel! Interesting how our experience with nature could be similar even from so different locales.
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When I was growing up in Iowa, we called it the January thaw, and it was as predictable — and enjoyable — as could be. During the thaw, moms always were cautioning us not to stand beneath the icicles hanging from the houses, and to stay off the ponds unless someone had checked the ice.
I love that last photo. They’re all pretty, but there’s something about that one that’s especially appealing. I’m glad you were able to get out, and enjoy both the weather and the creatures!
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The warm temp. and the bright afternoon sun are the main motivators. I admit I’ve been a recluse this winter, just too cold to step outside until now.
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Love that crown of droplets letting go and yet not letting go. The patterns on the tree bark of the second woodpecker photo is really cool, too.
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Like ice mushroom, don’t you think? 🙂
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Lovely photos! The melting ice looks really neat! We are having a bit of thaw here too, not quite as warm as you, but close. It’s really nice and I am enjoying it while it lasts.
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The past two weeks have been quite warm. Looks like it will stay this way for Jan. Hopefully it won’t be too rough in Feb. and then will come March. 🙂
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What beautiful photos and what remarkable weather. I love those ice drips. And the deer. They look rather close. We have no snow but about the same temps, although I think they are dipping again this week. I’m not a big snow fan but when you have a day like you did, I’d definitely be out there!
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The melting ice photo reminds me of a sombrero with pompom tassels!
Love the birding photos and the deer.
Thank you.
When I was out on S. Cherry Creek Trail yesterday (Denver, CO) I saw an amazingly built beaver dam (and the master 🦫 beaver swimming nearby!! What a fine engineering work.
It made me so happy, and in a month, or thereabouts, the baby beavers will arrive.
I didn’t have my iPhone 📱 to take a photo.
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I’m afraid beavers aren’t doing much good here at the Pond. They munched down many trees, the woods have become thinner and we can see remaining stumps of trees everywhere. As for Denver, I think our climate here and CO is very similar, both near the Rocky Mountains, albeit I’m sure we do get much colder if the Artic air flows southward.
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Your photos are stunning. I can feel the ice dripping, it looks so clear. Also, how precious to be able to be so close to a deer and it not being afraid of you. I bet you felt invigorated after your walk.
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We have lots of deer here in this environs where I live. I guess they live so close to humans that they get used to our intrusion of their natural areas.
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Thanks for stopping by, VB.
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I love a frosty landscape. Beautiful pictures .
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Beautiful photos. Those ice droplets are so interesting! We are back from our trip and I’m getting caught up in bloggy world.
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