DISLIKE WINTER? ME TOO....sort of...

I've never really liked winter (maybe when I was a child I enjoyed it) but, not in recent years. I decided I needed to do something to help me manage winters better, to enjoy every season. I bought a camera and started shooting. A strong cold wind might keep me in the house, but, otherwise, I go out everyday with my camera over my shoulder. I placed a basket of seed on the deck right outside the window where I sit at my computer and was amazed at how beautiful the ever changing scenery was at that seed basket. I've always been a bird watcher but never really had a feeder near enough to me to really see the birds up close. When the Blue Jays fly in everyone else disappears...except one day, a female Cardinal, that basically gave him the "I'm not leaving" look and after starring at each other for awhile, he went on to eat seed together. At about 4:00 each day it becomes Cardinal hour...so many of them fly in and feed on the sunflower seeds....so beautiful. You really don't notice them as much in the summer, but with their brilliant red and softened tones (of the female)against the white snow....they just brighten the whole landscape. You don't see the variety that you see in the summer months when the vacationing birds come back, but you get to know the ones that come each day. The squirrel pictured is a Fox Squirrel and he has a boo boo above his eye....I watched the boo boo heal each day as he would come for his daily treat....winter....it's not so bad...in the summer I would be outside seeing some of this but not from my warm comfy chair with a front row view....I've started taking my camera with me on my drives to and from work and have gotten an amazing variety of beautiful pictures of winter in all of it's finery....find a way to enjoy this beautiful season.