Ash Wednesday~ February 22, 2012

With Ash Wednesday, we begin the traditional observation of the 40 days of Lent.  This year I will be giving up Blogging and Face Book for those 40 days.  I will not be posting to my blog, reading or commenting on your blogs, or Face Booking.  I feel that this is a significant sacrifice for me and will give me extra time to devote to Bible study and prayer.  Lent ends with Easter and after that, I will blog again, if the Lord is willing.  I love all my Blogger friends and will sorely miss you during this time.

"Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 40 days before Easter, not counting Sundays. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.  According to the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus spent forty days fasting in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, during which he endured temptation by Satan.  Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this forty day liturgical period of prayer and fasting.  Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing  ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered after the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burned on the day before.  This practice is common in much of Christendom, being celebrated by Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and some Baptist denominations".   copied from Wikipedia

More Birds.....

Some of these were made yesterday while it was raining and the rest were made this morning.  I like the way this camera setting gives you a muted background.  This is the Eastern Bluebird.

I finally caught the male Bluebird in the bush!

He is so blue it almost hurts your eyes!

The female is lovely, but not nearly as colorful.

The Goldfinch are beginning to get some of their very yellow Spring breeding colors.

This is a Dark-eyed Junco in the rain.

My little darling Yellow-rumped Warbler caught a grub.

Here he is in the tree, showing me the patch on his rump.

He had a hard time eating his catch.

We still have a yard full of Robins and other assorted birds looking for worms every morning.  I'm still having fun playing with Picasa 3.  This is focal zoom, vignette, and museum mat.

The squirrel is still busy building his nest.  Here he is crossing the yard in front of the storage building.

I Have a New Love!!!

The Yellow-Romped Warbler is my new love!   

I saw my first one at my sister's house several years ago.  

This is the first year I have seen them at our house.

For several days I thought there was just one pair of them coming to eat bread crumbs.

Then yesterday I saw that they were all over the yard!  They seemed to be having a feast on something in the grass and weeds on the yard, which already looks like it needs to be mowed!

This is my first love!!

It is a wet, drizzly day here, but we have had all kinds of birds at the feeders.

Jeep made this one of a pair looking for a place to call 'home'.

I can't leave out the Chickadee!  He is so cute and has a cheerful little song.

The Brown-headed Nuthatch is another cute visitor to the feeder this morning.  I guess I might as well admit, I love all birds!  Even the old mean bullies are beautiful, too!  I gave them fresh food and water today and they rewarded me by putting on such a show it's hard to stop watching them!

Feed the birds~Enjoy the show!

Looking for Spring

Our yard looked like 'Robin City' this morning as a hundred or more Robins bobbed about looking for some morsel.  Of course they don't go to the seed feeders, but look for worms, grubs, berries and tender greens.
(I'm playing with the  Picasa 3 focal zoom with this shot.)

I think this one is looking for something.....maybe Spring!

This one has his eye on the prize!

This Robin is pulling something out of the ground.....maybe a worm?

I caught this Robin in a full stretch.

This one just wants us to see his pretty feathers!

I like this shot because of the Bluets in the background.

Okay, I think I see it now!

The Pine Warbler blessed us with a quick visit this morning.

Mr. Mean showed up, as usual.

And the Yellow-Romped Warbler finally showed me the yellow patch on his romp.

A few Doves were around to pick up the fallen seed.

The Goldfinch is all puffed up to keep warm on this cool morning.   

Making all these pictures is almost a full-time job, but somebody needs to do it!

Sometimes they keep me and Jeep busy for hours;-)

Today's Birds

I think I'm in love with the Pine Warblers.  I think this is the female, as she is not as yellow as the male.

These first four pictures are the female Pine Warbler.

This is the male Pine Warbler.  He is yellow all over.   He thinks he is 'King of the Crumbs'!

The Cardinals are so skittish!  I feel honored when one pauses long enough for a picture.

This is the Yellow-Romped Warbler.  I did get to see the yellow patch on its rear but couldn't get a good shot of it.When it is perched, the wings cover the yellow patch.

And we still have 'Mr. Mean' Mockingbird coming by for water and food.  He loves to swoop in and scare the other birds away!

Here's one more shot of the Yellow-Romped Warbler.  It has been a cold, wet day with a little sleet at times.  I find myself looking forward to Spring and sunny, warm weather.