Sunday Jan. 29,2014   4pm    Driveway in 40mph  winds, and it just got worse from here on.  Temps to -24 tonight , with -50 windchill.  Spring is just around the corner.

Junco puffed up to try and keep warm.

Male Cardinal in bushes by feeder.

Bluejay in snowy spruce.    HAVE HAD TROUBLE LOADING PHOTOS FOR THE PAST WEEK ON THIS BLOG SITE-WE ARE ALSO NOW USING FACE BOOK AND POSTING SOME OF OUR BEST NATURE PHOTOS THERE UNDER the name  GARY ERICKSON.

Female Hairy Woodpecker.  The woodpeckers come to our suet feeders many times each day.

For the second time this week our driveway looks like the tundra.  Winds pushing 40mph.  If we had much new snow it would be total white-out conditions.

When the winter get tough the deer come up to the lawn to eat Highbush berries.This time they were also digging at our lawn flowers.  They can sometimes be a real problem.

This Opossum was enjoying the suet on the last warm(28 degree) day before the cold snap hit here.  Once it gets really cold they hunker down until the next warm up.

Morning of Jan. 6, 2014  8 am    I could hear the snickers of my Phoenix friends as I walked outside to feed the birds.

When the temps drop the Cardinals come in by the dozens just before dark.  We have 2-3 dozen with us at late dusk each night now.

Fox Sparrows are uncommon here in the winter.  We usually only see them in the fall and spring as they migrate through this area.  Interestingly we had 2 Fox Sparrows with us last winter and we again have 2 with us this winter.  Same two?????

Tree Sparrows are perky little birds that are here only in the winter.  We have only one at the feeders this year.  They are quite wild and prefer the brushy areas on our land.

Suet attracts a Blue Jay and a Red-bellied Woodpecker at the same time.  The "pecking order" is clearly in favor of the Red-bellied this time.