Peaceful scenes at my bird birders often degrade into utter panic. The cause of the terror is usually this chap:
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| A Cooper's Hawk scans for potential prey that have taken cover. |
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| His head constantly swivels to spot possible hide-outs. |
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| Feathers raised on a very cold January morning. |
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| He spots me in the window -- not minding my own business. |
Not worried about the Cooper's hawk are my neighbourhood crows. Any food I put out for them is quickly dispatched and when there are no handouts, they make do with fruit. I was fascinated to watch one of these guys daintily plucking seeds from sumac bobs.
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| He has a piece of sumac bob pinned under one foot ... |
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| ... and daintily picks off and swallows one seed at a time. |
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| Usually more active at night, a cotton tail braves daylight for a snack. |
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| A plump little red squirrel poses for a photo. |
Just finished this ebook from the public library. Intrigued by the author's story in unravelling the mystery of her mother's brief disappearance, I read the story in a couple of days. And in the end, it all made sense. Well written and very interesting. A good read.
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| So agree with this quote from Mason Cooley. (illustrator unknown) |
About this post's subject, Finger Ballet ...
I'm very much enjoying my ukulele as I learn how to play it. Soothing, tropical vibes are just the ticket for a winter's stay-cation. There are tons of ukulele YouTube tutorials and play alongs. My favourite teacher has a channel called 'Bernadette Teaches Music'. Fun and easy to follow. Because my finger tips were getting sore from string pressure, I bought some silicone finger guards. They work well for me. We are instructed to play on our finger tips (not the pads). The action reminds me of little ballet slippers whose on-point toes are striving to dance with precision.
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| Finger toes dancing out an F Major chord. |
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| Mid-step on a G Major. |
Anyway, 'Aloha' from my patch of the frozen North.
