I was heading out to the car yesterday midday when I caught some movement in the spruce trees by the driveway. Sure enough, this lovely northern goshawk had just swooped down and landed in the spruces. As I approached, it took off again and flew to one of the poplars along the brook. I grabbed my camera and rattle off a few shots. Quite a beautiful raptor. Oh, and yes, the chickadees were keeping an eye on him…
A drop of sap falls from a tap. With the advent of tubing systems, there aren’t many places that still use taps and buckets to collect their maple sap, but the Audubon Nature Center here in Huntington still holds to the tradition. It’s nice to hear the pinging of drops as the sap starts flowing!
I hope you had a chance to see it. Venus is the brighter of the two dots. Simply beautiful!
I came across these fine, delicate frost feathers growing from a sucker stem next to one of the apple trees in our back yard. There was a hole just below the stem and next to the tree trunk where I’ll wager some critter has taken up winter residence allowing its warm breath to create just enough moisture for the crystals to form.
After a deep snowfall, a solitary twig looks like a bonsai tree.
Our kitchen window played host to some lovely sweeping frost crystal growth the other morning when it was -17 below.
Looking a bit more to the right… More monsters?
An open lead of water beneath the ice of Fargo Brook
Happy New Year!
John Hadden Photography 