a little sparrow flying in to join the feast the squirrel looks like the teacher of an unruly bunch

when the blue jays come to the seed table like so many bullies, all the other birds leave

the blue jays squabble so much that they don't seem to actually eat anything!

hammamelis "diana" took advantage of the sun yesterday to begin opening

the usually elusive cardinal came to visit this morning, and this afternoon!

an eastern wood pewee, a type of flycatcher, slumming in my back deck. (thanks, sis for the indentification.) what is this pewee doing here now? he should be in central america!

Wow, yesterday there was no barking or hissing. Today, Snoopy is investigating the 2nd floor under Luna’s watch. They came within 2 feet of each other, sniffed the air, and went their separate ways. I think things are progressing really well. I think Snoopy will have unfettered run of the house in another week, perhaps.

Interspecies sharing:

luna running. whippets and greyhounds have a double jump stride, and you can see luna is off the groung when her legs are together, as well as when they are apart in yesterday's picture.

it seems the dogs and snoopy are settling down and determining boundaries, but there was quite a bit of hissing and barking last night. snoopy stays to the attic, except when he hears me, and then he comes down to say hello.

the dogs are running away - from snoopy? not in this picture, but the fur has been flying a little these days, with snoopy holding his own.

snoopy's owner, j, took this photo of the sangu kaku maple in my garden with my camera and an old, heavy, manual vivitar zoom lens. snoopy is putting the dogs in their place, and venturing from the attic to explore the house.

snoopy, our new boarder, is 12 years old. so far, snoopy is holding his ground with the dogs.

maybe i should rename this blog "squirrel central." not much else is going on in the garden, until we get a warm day and the winter blooming jasmine and witch hazel do their thing. any day now.

a black squirrel, relative newcomer to the NE , ventures onto the deck

one of my favorite features in the nearby woods, a large rock wedged between two trees. its been there for years.

name that bark! (win valuable prizes!)

a.

b.
c.

acer sangu kaku in all its glory in front of my neighbor's dilapidated shed close up of sangu kaku

my husband, the ski hooky instigator

the magnolias were about to bloom when we were in sf over the holiday. i'm not sure which red variety this is, but i know i cannot grow it in my zone 6 garden.

the ice skating house at the local pond, which has not opened this winter tree trunk in the woods

back in sf, a blazing phormium set off by a geranium

a bird of paradise flower

playing hooky yesterday

back in sf, jasmine buds are waiting for a warmer day to bloom and the camellias are strutting their stuff

polite beggar outside my office window the difference between my two dogs: the whippet thinks i'm a heated dog bed, the poodle thinks i'm god

close up of a lichen, part of the winter landscape that reminds me of butterfly wings in summer sweet autumn clematis seeds in december

more shots from sf, here a hibiscus just opening... and i've no idea what this is, perhaps a broom?

i found this lonely fellow on a christmas day walk in the woods experimenting with the new lens

happy new year! for christmas, my hubs gave me a 60mm close-up lens! i am just learning to use it to the best effect. let me know if there are too many close-up photos. we visited family in the sf area, and the hotel has a garden with roses mightily resisting the uncharateristically cold (low 40 f) weather: