For the birds

It was the quintessential spring day here in Vermont today—sunny, blue skies, warm but with a hint of underlying coolness in the breezes. My folks were once again kind enough to invite me over for dinner, so I decided to head over there around mid-afternoon in order to do some photography beforehand.

This first image is of the top of their magnolia tree:



Violets have started popping up all over the place; these particular flowers were under one of the other trees in their yard:



I loved how the different shades of green looked against each other:



I spent most of my time before dinner out on the porch watching for birds, a pursuit I found to be much more enjoyable in April than it was in February—it was nice not to have to worry about my shivering screwing up the photos.

This daring chickadee perched in a rhododendron just a few feet from where I was standing on the porch:



Eventually I pulled up a chair and kept an eye on the bird feeder. This woodpecker was one of the first birds to return after I'd been settled for a bit; that white spot under where it sits is a bit of sunflower seed it sent flying as it ate:



A goldfinch and a titmouse on opposite sides of the feeder:



The blur on the right is the titmouse taking off with its food for parts unknown:



A male cardinal followed the titmouse in, and looked pretty cool across from the goldfinch:



The cardinal perched in a Japanese willow in Mom's center garden:



A junco:



A female goldfinch, sitting in the same plant as the chickadee was earlier:



Five goldfinches enjoying the bounty of the birdfeeders:



After I'd gone back inside, a chipmunk emerged from under the porch to get a drink from the fountain sitting on the porch railing. Fortunately for me, I have this awesome new camera that had no problem focusing on objects even through glass. In this first one, you can even see a droplet of water clinging to one of its whiskers just in front of its mouth:



And in this one I liked both the chipmunk's pose and how clearly it was reflected in the water:



Finally, no visit to Mom and Dad's would be complete without at least one photo of Kaylee, right?