After the snow, birds

 The feeders have been a hub of activity today.  

Who doesn't love to see, and hear, a pretty Blue Jay.

At times it was standing room only on the feeder platform.

Once the perfect seed is selected, a suitable branch is chosen for the nutcracking work.

They work hard to get to the meat of the matter inside the hard sunflower seed shell.

There was a fair amount of action on the suet blocks as well.

There is some dispute about the ownership of said suet block.  

Litigation to follow I'm sure.

This male pileated woodpecker hung around off and on for most of the day.

It was a blustery, cold day, perfect for a suet snack.

That red 'lip stick' is the easy way to tell that this is a male.

On the All About Birds website, it mentions the size similarity between the Pileated Woodpecker and the American Crow.  I got to observe that up close today.

Ready for winter

The weather over the weekend was nice enough that I finally finished up my outside pre-winter chores. 

Sunday,  I put out some Christmas on the front porch.  

I tried to get a photo with out the yard light to show that I put lights inside of the candy canes.

You get the idea. 

That was Monday night. 

Today,  it all looks different.  This is probably the snow that will stay until April.

 Schools are closing early,  lots of cancelations,  this is winter. 

❄️❄️❄️

Shoveled the steps several times today.  Now the snow has stopped.

It looks like snow loving aliens laid some big eggs like the movie Cocoon.

Untouched snow is beautiful. 

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Emily's Baby Shower

 Saturday was Emily's baby shower in Luck. About 30 of Em's family & friends gathered to play games, have a delicious luncheon and give Emily a shower of gifts to welcome a baby girl who will arrive in February. 

Great Aunt Wanda, Emily,  Great Aunt Kathy & Great Aunt Lois 

It was a very fun event. 

Little brother August finished off the day by helping pop the balloon arch,  a dream come true for a little boy who will soon be an uncle to the new baby. 

This and That

 Driving home from Barron the other day, I was noticing my oil change sticker on the window and when I looked at the odometer to see how close I was to needing an appointment for oil change, I saw that my little Vibe was crossing a milestone.

So far, so good!

The mid-term election had a good turnout in my township.  According to one of the poll workers, the turnout rivaled normal turnout for presidential elections.  Not all the contests went the way I voted, but I am pleased about people taking it serious and getting out the vote.

Last hunting season, our Sandcastle generator crapped out the first day of hunting.  The hunters spent a whole day trying to track down a repair and eventually bought a new generator.  Not what the hunters want to do when they are Up North.  This year, the new generator has been malfunctioning.

As of today, we are proud owners of a new Yahama 2200.

There should be no problems, this year, on Saturday morning when the hunters want to watch cartoons.

It has been snowing a little bit today, I hope it holds off, I plan on going to the school play in Luck this evening.  There is a little snow at the Sandcastle.