Merry Christmas to Everyone!!!

We all...Susan, David, Jess, Storm, Trust, Tank and Blast...wish all of you a wonderful holiday!
May you and your families, and all your four-legged critters, have a very happy and a very safe Christmas and New Years' Season. The best to you in 2011 and may all your wishes come true!
Blast warns all not to drink and drive or he will come searching for you...

Tank hopes everyone has lots of fun and toys and lots of treats as well!

Trust says to be kind to everyone and hopes she will receive lots of body rubs!

Jess and Storm have had a wonderful year, and are enjoying their retirement. As long as those special treats keep coming their way they will be happy and hope all the other "oldies" are also.

Crazy Snow Dogs!

I debated putting these pictures on, as they are not terribly clear. One of these days...soon??...I really need to read some instructions with my camera to get good action shots.
Blast always amazes me how he can jump straight up from a sit or standing still, and so many feet off the ground. He's such a powerful dog.

He's in quite deep, soft snow here as I always used to worry he would hurt himself. He makes total body twists in the air as well, it's scary to watch, yet amazing at the same time. I was throwing snow hunks for him, he totally loves it, but I don't like to do too many. Tank and Blast have such a great time when I let them play together; which is not on a regular basis. They never stop racing and wrestling and can be completely tired out in 5 to 10 minutes. They have such fun and look like they have a smile on their faces the whole time.

Winters' Beauty through the window..

A very pretty early morning with very heavy hoarfrost coating everything. It's too bad, in these pictures, you truly cannot see the diamond glint on everything.

When a little break in the clouds allowed the sun to shine through, everywhere you looked was just glittering. It was truly spectacular.

More "New" Birds!

The female Evening Grosbeaks have arrived...about 4 days after the males...hmmm...what does that mean?! I think it is obvious, the females were able to 'tough it out' in the forest longer than the males were able to go hungry!!!!

And the Pine Siskens, which we haven't seen for two winters. They began to swarm the niger feeder yesterday.

They are such cute, tiny birds, it's really nice to have them return.

But then....the pretty but bloodthirsty Northern Shrike arrived as well. A notorious hunter of rodents and small birds, he is a close relative to the rare Loggerhead Shrike, referred to as the 'butcher bird'.

He thinks no-once can see him, I was lucky to get some photos as he doesn't remain still for very long

I hope he isn't lucky with our pretty Pine Grosbeak (male). And so far, the only one to show up...he's been here alone for two days now.

One of those "lucky" shots! I was trying to get the Pine Grosbeak and two male Evening Grosbeaks together in one picture. One flew off and what the heck is this other guy doing? Maybe showing off or too much eggnog last night....Too funny! I didn't even notice until I loaded the picture, lucky timing.