Pileated Woodpecker

Sometimes we get a special bird to visit our backyard here in Paducah. On Friday, Wayne caught this Pileated Woodpecker on the tree next to our bird feeders. The clothelines are in the way, but you can see what a large bird this is. Wayne shot the photo through our sliding glass door so he wouldn't disturb it.

One other time I saw a Pileated Woodpecker in the tree by the driveway - he got my attention because he was pecking away at the tree and making a lot of noise doing it.

The Pileated Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America. Their bright red pointed crest makes them very distinguishable.

Cardinals

We feed the birds all year long, so have a lot of wintering cardinals that hang out in our back yard. The cardinals love to sit in the wisteria bush. All of those curves of the branches give them some protection, and they look beautiful against the icy branches.

Winter

The weather has been crazy all across the country this past week. We had something that we don't get very often - icicles. On Wednesday morning about 7:15 a.m., I stepped out on the back porch to take this photo of the icicles hanging there. The sun was shining through them, and I couldn't resist snapping this photo. The roads were a bit slick that morning but Wayne got me to work just fine. They do a lot of spraying a salt brine on the streets here when they know ice is coming. So if you live in the south...farther south than we do....here's some icicles for you. Let's hope this is our last cold spell, and that spring will be on its way soon.

And while I am on an animal kick, we've been having rain, cold, yukky weather, which neither of our cats like very much. They will trek out in the snow, but when it rains, they are like little kids -- Dad, can't you make it quite raining? Here's Tuffy standing at the door meowing - like please make the rain go away.

The Blackbirds

You've undoubtedly seen those masses of blackbirds flying together overhead. Well, it was quite a surprise when I got up on Sunday morning and saw the entire backyard covered with blackbirds. Me, being me, grabbed my camera and started shooting through the sliding glass door. I knew if I tried to open it, the birds would be gone before I had my camera focused. They didn't stay long, but here is one of my shots.