Another Dose of Whimsy from The Vermilon River. A Post to SWF.

I'm writing this on Wednesday morning. We have totally run the weather gamut from 0 degrees C to -22 C, about 5 below F. We started with a wet snow and continued to a heavy cold snow with high winds forming drifts. I'm not even concerned with the wind chill temperature. It's just damn cold, although it is sunny today. I did check the temperature with the windchill,it's -28C or 12 below zero F.  

Even Boomer was cold this morning, as I had to stop and take the snow out of his paws. He was quite content to come home, and curl up in his spot. 

The initial photos all show the cold. The second one shows the actual colour of the water, which is stained copper from the minerals in the rock. One person said it looked like whiskey, which is certainly an intriguing thought.

This shot of a Goldfinch shows the frozen ice and the wet snow falling early in the day.

This one was taken later in the day and he's all puffed up against the cold and the wind.

The Blue Jay of course will eat his way to warmth.

The Chickadee is doing the same thing despite the wind, which is ruffling his feathers.

The Starling is another tough customer that fares well in the winter.

The Northern Crows forage all day, despite the weather.

This is Huegy up close.

You can just see the red patch on the back of his head. He's A Hairy Woodpecker.

Another shot.

And a rear view to show the detail in his feathers.

This little one is a female Pine Sisken all blown up against the wind and cold.

And here comes the whimsy with a quick reversal of the cold. This Black Swallow Tail is on a fireweed plant.

A vivid view of a Milbert's Tortoiseshell.

I'm not certain what these are, but they were on a forest trail, and look quite warm with the sun back lighting them.

A thistle flower of course, and the electric pink makes it warmer.

Another Crow shot that I neglected to include in the preceding sequence, so it's back to winter at the Vermilon River.

And of course another squirrel shot. A Post to SWF @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/   HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

More Favourites At The Vermilon River. A Post to MWT.

We had our white Christmas with a snowfall just in the nick of time. It was a heavy fall as you can see from the trees opposite. The temperature was warm which meant we got out a bit.

The snow really frames our land, and gives it depth in the photos, as well as that peculiar grey light.

 Boom & I had our usually quiet Christmas, spending some time outside, but also listening to the Christmas music on the CBC, public radio in Canada. The music ranged from the Messiah, broadcast from Montreal to the usual carols and to some sacred music. The sacred music included some Gospel music, which was terrific. The commentator pointed out that the difference between US and Canada is the Jazz and Caribbean influence in our Gospel 

Some of these photos were taken before the snow and some after. I must admit I baited the birds. Look at the seed the Blue Jay is standing in.

Even though there is a touch of light, his back feathers are still not shimmering.

This female Hairy Woodpecker dropped by.

And stayed to check out the peanut shells.

The light is a little strong in this shot but the Goldfinch looks so cocky.

Now he's more posed.

He's more posed in all these shots.

The Mourning Doves look especially Christmas like.

As I said earlier winter tends to frame these guys.

This is the same pair as before.

About five of them showed up, and some perched in the tree.

As well a single Redpoll showed up. This is a male.

A commentator on the site remarked earlier that he just couldn't see how these small birds could survive, but look at him digging for food. The snow is just flying.

For the effort he was successful!!

He's just peering over the snow bank.

What would a post be without any Red Squirrels.

Just a lunch break here.

And a supper break.

I like this shot because of the snow sticking to his fur. Maybe it's a brunch break that he's on now.

 A Post to MWT @ http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/  and to WBW@ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

More Whimsy At the Vermilon River. A Post to SWF.

.The weather is still changeable, alternating between cold, and warm temperatures. Mostly the skies are a sullen gray, except for the occasional surprise visit of the sun. We will have a virtually snow less Christmas

 I heard recently on the CBC , public radio, that Tom Thompson's paintings are selling for record high amounts. Thompson in case you don't know is the lead painter of the Group Of Seven, a uniquely Canadian group of painters, who painted the Canadian Shield in revolt to the popular vogue of  painters who were painting in the genre of the Lake District in the UK or Mediterranean scenes in Europe. The difference is of course in the light and ruggedness of the scene. Not putting me in the same class as Thompson, you can see the power in the white water shown here. 

While the shield is unique to Canada, you can find the same ruggedness in other sites on the web, when photos of the sea, especially the Atlantic are shown. But in the shield it is common. 

But I feel this ruggedness is part of the Canadian character. Also I feel we can not lose this aspect of ourselves. The photo on the right is of a Vermilon River wetland

Across from the wetland are side channels of the River, which flow quite rapidly.

More Fairy Lights of the Vermilon River Forest as the light passes through the frost.

This photo is a bit different as it's a piece of the above photo blown up to catch the highlight in the ice crystals.

What would the world be without these vain capricious creatures, the Blue Jay.

I actually think he's going to tell you here what life is all about.

All these photos are shot with the 70-300 lens at an ISO of 800 as the sky is so gray.

I was fortunate last week to get a visit from these Goldfinch.

There was a bit of sun and I forgot to change the white balance you can see how warm their plumage is.

I like the warming effect that the darker white balance gave.

These little guys are another of our winter birds that brighten the day.

Back again for another display of cuteness, the Red Squirrel.

 Just a little gymnastic display this time. And for all that work, lunch. A Post to SWF @ http://skyley.blogspot.com/ and Camera Critters@ http://camercritters.blogspot.com/ and Scenic Sunday @ http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/   And to everyone Season's Greetings from Boom and I at the Vermilon River.