Bob Gilreath has recently retired, so he has more time to enjoy the little things in life, such as bird watching. He said he recently moved the feeder in his first photo, to the kitchen window. It took the birds a day to find it, but when they did, they flocked to it just fine. It looks like those are Redpolls hanging out there, entertaining Bob and Liz.

The next two photos are the familiar Blue jay. Not always a good sharer when it comes to the bird feeders, as they like to chase the other birds away. With that having been said, though, they still are a beautiful bird with the blue, white and black plumage. I was surprised to learn that they enjoy acorns. I realize they're a larger size bird, but acorns just seem so big even for a Blue jay. I'm guessing they must peck at them until they crack open, like they open up a sunflower seed from the feeder. It would be interesting to gather some acorns and place them around the ground near your feeders to see how they eat them. That might be a good project for Bob now that he's retired and has extra time on his hands. Then he could report his observations to us all. What do you think, Bob? ;-)

Interesting pix...I like the King of the Feeder, stare-down between the two top birds, in the first pic. Enjoy retirement Bob, I'm beginning to look forward to it myself.

I love the birds! Great pics of our feathered friends!

Busy day at Bob's Bird Buffet!

Great bird photos, Bob! And you'll love retirement. It's way ahead of whatever's in second place.

Lots of pretty birds.

When we lived in Red Jacket, we would literally have hundreds of Redpolls at our feeders, but only certain years. Some years we never saw them, mostly because they don't come down this far into the US unless it is really cold in the Arctic. We saw Bob and Liz tonight at the Tech Women's Basketball game, which means that yes, we are in the Keweenaw enjoying Winter Carnival!!

Capt,

Did you pull an all-nighter last night, making an entry in the statue contest ;) ?

I'm so glad the January snow finally came through this year. Winter Carnival created some of the fondest memories I have for the years I spent in the Keweenaw. I was on the staff of the yearbook and newspaper. Back then there was a printed color magazine covering just Winter Carnival. It was published and distributed on Sunday if memory serves. It was quite a chore, but that was no different than all the many many people involved with all the various events.

Getting quality pictures of snow and ice statues is always a challenge, especially when it is overcast. The lack of shadows just really washes things out. I wonder if some of today's camera technology, specifically some of the "High Dynamic Range" features would create more vivid images.

Capt. Paul and Dr. Nat--Glad you made it back to the U.P.for the
Winter Carnival, and thank you for enlightening us on Pasty Cam
about the marvels and mysteries of geology.