randomness

stalking the stalker :)

 

we had an ice storm in CT and it brought the birds to my deck

which is my favorite part of winter :)

 

 

 

and i was able to drive through my favorite wildlife refuge in western MA...

found a great blue heron weathering the icy rain before heading south to warmer climates.

he posed nicely before taking off...

 

back to the deck wildlife ...

 

 

 

 and ending with some holiday-ness ...

 

 

that's pony-boy, enjoying the fire :)

 

looking back...

for years, i volunteered at a cat shelter in Connecticut. 

i spent hours at the place each week, feeding the cats,

cleaning floors, scooping litter, cuddling with homeless cats...

 

the amount of work that goes into running a shelter is endless,

the constant need is mind-numbing, and there is never enough money. 

however, the volunteers get the job done - here in Connecticut and all across the country. 

if ever an animal rescue organization needs help, i do whatever i can to provide whatever i can -

the need is huge.

 

i worked for 8 yrs at this shelter and it was extremely rewarding. 

i now have eleven inside cats, all rescues

and three cats that we feed on our decks whenever they show up...

 

in an effort to shine more light on a never-ending need,

i put together a calendar of some of the images i had shot at the shelter. 

this is for sale on my etsy shop (see link in right sidebar or click HERE)

and all proceeds will be donated to the cat shelter in hopes of saving many more homeless cats.

 

here are some images of the cats i knew at the shelter.

some had a home and lost it.

some never had a home.

some are feral and the shelter will be only home they ever know,

and they are the lucky ones. they will be warm and fed and cared for...

 

please help all homeless animals whenever you can.

thank you.

 

celebrating spring...

wednesday was a true celebration of spring...

i took pictures all day long, of wings and petals. 

here are some of the bird pics from a very special day...

 

on sunday, i saw a picture on facebook of a place

that i thought might be the most magical place i had ever seen in the new england area.

 i asked the person (a wonderful stranger) where it was taken, and she told me how to get there - and it was less than 45 minutes from my house.

 i left the cape on monday and went to there on tuesday - and this is what i found...

 

 

this is a rookery.

(i had to look up the word - a nesting or breeding place)

it was across a pond, i had to shoot through the trees, but you can see the where the magic happens from enough of a distanceso as to not disturb the birds :)

 

there were so many heron, every nest was occupied.

they flew around - at one time 6 heron were soaring together. 

it was so beautiful and there are no pictures that i took that will do the place justice.

 

there was another huge nest next to the trees of heron nests,

i had heard at the visitor center that it was an eagle nest.

yep, there were two eagles in it (got to look close but they are there!)

 

dad left the nest for a little alone time,

sitting on a neighboring tree, surveying the area...

 

 

 as i was leaving this wildlife sanctuary,

i saw two little bluebirds hanging out -

it has taken me almost 59 yrs to see bluebirds in real life...

 

so, with a happy smile over all the great stuff i saw,

i left and drove to my favorite place in the world,

where i go sometimes three times a day.

 

it's another wildlife sanctuary that i found by accident a few years ago

and it's only 10-15 minutes from home.

and this day, there was an egret - one of my favorite birds ever,

they have such an elegant grace and beauty...

 

 

 

 

and before leaving for home,

i spotted one little sparrow, sitting in some budding branches,

looking like a picture of springtime.

 

this last picture was enhanced with snapseed and Kim Klassen's texture named "3112"

sharing with Texture Tuesday on Celebrate day :) 

found here:

http://www.kimklassencafe.com/thecafe/texture-tuesday-lets-celebrate-edition.html

 

 



one sweet week :)

starting on sunday, the day after the blizzard,

it was a week of overload...

we dug out on saturday in Connecticut where the snow at house was only 2 feet deep.  in other parts of our little state, they got up to 40 inches. 

and they are still digging out, 9 days later....

 

 

 

so sunday, we headed to the cape to see how our little house 

took the hurricane force winds and heavy snow. 

it was a one day trip - in and out on the same day -

and made for a very long day for both of us. 

joey doesn't do long drives without whining and i am the worst rider ever. 

especially when he's driving. 

but our house was intact, the power there had come back on,

we had a lovely dinner and the ride home DID end. 

so all was good :)

and i got to take pics from the truck as he drove,

which made the ride a little more bearable...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the rest of the week was work-overload,

from morning to night...

i was in the office, on the phone for hours, and it was grueling.

but i was able to sit near a window and see the birds on the deck

which sure adds beauty to a workday :)

and my valentine surprised me with a bouquet of tulips and iris :)

and we got great news at an appointment with rest of our lives :) :)

so the week of overload ended on a high note and turned into

one sweet week :)