enough snow already!

Yesterday we endured another vicious storm with high winds and white-out conditions, even on the main street in Charlottetown!

22 centimetres blew around in huge drifts.

Even the churches are expressing their opinions that all this snow is getting out of hand.

Our compost bucket was full to overflowing, but I wasn't looking forward to dumping it. Usually it's a pleasant walk through the back yard to the composter, but it's different now. There's at least 3 to 4 feet of soft white stuff back there. I have resorted to strapping on my skis to avoid skinking to my waist with every step, but even that was a problem yesterday. Hanging on to the compost buckets meant I couldn't use ski poles. Struggling up the first hill, I did more sliding backward than moving forward. When I finally made it back there, I found that the compost bins are fast disappearing, and I had to bend down almost to ground level to dump the stuff.

woodpeckers

I have always had trouble taking a decent picture of the woodpeckers that occasionally visit my feeders. They move really fast, and don't take kindly to posing for me. But this Sunday was different. The sun was shining, it was really cold, and these two paid an extended visit and didn't care who was looking.

I finally know why this species is called the "downy" woodpecker. At the base of the bill is a frill of fluffy feathers. Maybe the purpose is to protect the eyes from flying bits of wood when it is drilling a hole in a tree.

This guy was pecking the table to liberate sunflower seeds frozen in the ice, and ended up with ice in the down around his beak.

more winter birds

This morning I was having breakfast when I heard a loud bang. I looked up to see a blue jay had just beat its wings against the window and was perched on the rail of the deck, his beady eye staring straight at me. I got the message loud and clear: get outside, clear off this snow, and feed us birds!
A 50-pound bag of black oil sunflower seeds is $30, and I just bought the second one this winter. Also, suet is $2 a block, and the winged wonders have munched though at least 10 so far this winter. And I won't even mention what I have spent on bird feeders. Luckily,birds don't charge a fee to pose for pictures!
Here's a lovely mourning dove.

Here's a jittery little dark-eyed junco. These little cuties seem to be almost completely round, with a grey top and white bottom.











Taking pictures of downy woodpeckers is such a challenge.
I've taken lots of pictures of them over the past few years, and the shots are always out of focus. But I'll keep trying!