Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Frosty Happenings On the Vermilon River. A Post To SWF.

When this sky greeted us in the morning I should have known something was up. But checking the advanced forecast, the call was for warming and rain, the usual January thaw, which Boom and I dislike. So we thought we'd better get moving, and reap while the sun shone.

No this is not the moon, it's the sun having a hard time breaking through the clouds. So much for that" farmy reap" stuff.

In fact it looked like the sun was going to lose the struggle, and the day would be overcast.

Yet to the west, the sky was brightening a bit. They should have a white balance called " when you and the weather man are uncertain".

And the western sky continued to brighten as the photo opposite shows.

The River was still unconvinced of any sun and continued to show black against the ice rim.

The sun showed with a little bit of yellow, allowing me to catch the River in a golden mood. The River had been steaming all morning, and this photo shows the mist rising.

That heavy mist means frost, and it turns the forest to a glimmering jewel.

These shots show the frost on the trees along the River.  

 The shot below shows the frost along the ridge, as well as along the River bank.
 You can also see the day lightening, but still the weather is pretty undecided. The next series of shots don't need a commentary, but the frost adds another dimension to the already snow covered forest. The ending of the story was that this exceptional hike was followed by rain, and freezing rain, and Boom and I are home bound as everything is now icy. A post to SWF @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/ Camera Critters @ http://http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/ and Scenic Sunday @ http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/  

Seeds

Seed Pods Coated with frost.

A Frost Coated Bush.

Frost Coated Branch.

Frost and Snow Coated Nest Of Some Sort.

Male Pine Grosbeak.

Male Pine Grosbeak in Frosty Branches.

Close Up Male Pine Grosbeak, and Female Evening Grosbeak.

Male Evening Grosbeak and Male Pine Grosbeak in Background.

Female Redpoll.

Male Redpoll

Black-capped Chickadee

Black-capped Chickadee In the Cat Tails.

Mourning Dove.
Blue Jay
Blue Jay


Mourning Dove.

45 comments:

  1. Wonderful post, I enjoyed the sky, birds and the cool looking seedpods covered in frost. Great photos.

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  2. wonderful photos as usual. I don't mind the snow...freezing rain is another issue altogether. Hope you get more sun soon.

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  3. Hey Gary,
    What a fantastic story with brilliant photo's. Last weekend it was garden birdscounting day overhere. I saw a lot of birds, wanted to make photo's but the weather was against me. Never mind there will be better days.
    Have a lovely week and thanks for sharing all this beauty nature brings us.
    Marijke

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  4. The birds look so delicate in that harsh weather. Lovely images.

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  5. I really like the pictures of the moon and the river.

    Greetings,
    Filip

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  6. The males have it all...from the Male Pine Grosbeaks to the male Redpoles, you have the handsome ones! I really enjoy seeing seed pods in the snow...what will their beginnings bring forth...~

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  7. A great group of Snow Birds Gary! Love those Grosbeaks!

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  8. I love the Pine Grosbeak it's not a bird I have heard of before.

    Great shots as always,

    Gill

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  9. Love the frost in the trees and always swooning over your birds!

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  10. I love this series Gary and I am so glad you (and Boomer) got up early enough to get out there before it froze up. I am green with envy as always over your birds and your frost pix are almost enough to make me long for some real winter (almost ;>) Thanks so much for sharing.

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  11. Man, that looks cold. It must be hard to get out of bed that early when it's that cold. Love the frost pictures.

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  12. Oh wow - love all these snowy shots. The first three of the sun are just magical!

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  13. Wonderful .....my compliments Gary.

    Greetings, Joop

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  14. The moon shots are gorgeous. Happy sky watching.

    Skywatch

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  15. Beautiful moody photos of the sun struggling to make some kind of presence known to the earth! And the dark waters are quite intimidating! But the photos of the birds colour the snowy world wonderfully!

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  16. It looks like a greay day like we had here for ages it seems. I love your bird shots. All beautiful.

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  17. Wonderful early morning shots along with such lovely birds.

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  18. It does look snowy and cold, but beautiful!! Love your birds as always and particularly the Grosbeak and the Mourning Dove! Terrific captures as always, Gary! Hope you and Boom have a great weekend!

    Sylvia

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  19. Excellent shots Gary, we have had our first flutter of snow here in thew UK today. about 1/2 hours worth, and already people are going a little crazy about it.

    I love the lunar shots they are so inspirational

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  20. Super photos, Gary. I always love your birds.
    K

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  21. Beautiful pictures, - I love them!
    I wish you a Happy Friday!

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  22. Beautiful photos, love them!
    Greetings from Mette

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  23. Beautiful snowy scenery, I love the moon among the clouds.

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  24. Oh gracious goodness your photos are beyond beautiful!! It's my wish someday I could roam around in winter time and take good photo like these. By the way how you take care of your camera? For sure it's too cold when you are out there. That is my concern when I go out taking photos on a snowy weather ^_^ Thanks for the visit I do appreciate it.

    SWF

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  25. I love the way the sun looks like a silvery moon in these shots. You get such good ones of the wildlife in your part of the world. It is fun to see how birds plump themselves out in the cold for warmth. They look double and sometimes triple their size.

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  26. Fantastic captures Gary. The sun is awesome!

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  27. Very pretty but oh so cold! Love the little birds!

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  28. Very good and nice photos.

    Regards and best wishes

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  29. Your pics of the son trying to break through are stunning!

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  30. So beautiful with frost on the trees!

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  31. The frost covered bushes and pine cones are superb!

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  32. Beautiful photos of the frost coating everything. As always - your bird photos are great!

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  33. h boy thats a lot of snow. you have tons of amazing pictures here. i enjoyed watching them all

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  34. Love the sun photos--just beautiful. And, the birds are a delight to see. Mickie :)

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  35. You still managed to capture some very beautiful photos! What a joy to view them!

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  36. Wonderful images Gary and the images of the sun are incredible.. your birds are as always so lovely to view.

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  37. I like how you are finding bits of colour here and there amongst all the white and grey!

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  38. Beautiful birds.

    My CC pic is up too.

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  39. What a great post - the pictures of the sun are really different. Like the suggestion for the white balance setting.

    Stewart M - Australia

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