​Sunday, 3:33 PM - Although there isn’t the widespread frost like yesterday morning, it’s still a chilly 34°. Like a large bedspread, a single layer of white, gray and light blue clouds is unfurled across the sky. Just above the western horizon, the cloud line breaks revealing lightning blue sky. A few vultures soar here and there in the still air.
 
I come out onto the patio and there’s a loud flurry of wingbeats as many little birds scatter from the feeder. Unusual; they typically don’t startle at my presence.  The cause; a Red-shouldered Hawk had just swooped down, did a feeder fly by, and coming up empty-handed came to rest on top of one of the tall pines. A few brave titmice dared to harass him on his high perch. And even though he remained in the area for several minutes, the other brave passerines resumed their normal feeding activity.

​Saturday, 1:53 PM - On Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman of the Audubon Society, proposed a holiday tradition of a "Christmas Bird Census" that would count birds during the holidays rather than hunt them. And every year Audubon promotes the Christmas Bird Count.
 
Typically being engaged in family gatherings each Christmas, I have found it a bit too rude to dismiss myself from the table in order to wander outdoors alone on a bird search. But there are multiple times a year that I simply sit at my backyard feeder for an hour or so and photograph all the “regulars” that come to feed. I never tire of spotting and photographing a Chickadee, Titmouse or Cardinal… even if for the fiftieth time! I am always amazed and stare in wonder at God’s little critters. 

​Early in the morning, across the street the Vultures are still perched each morning and evening from their roosts. I watch a crow through the long lens; the feathers on his back undulating with each caw, like large black scales. Later in the afternoon, as is usual, the Cardinal is one of the first visitors after filling the feeders.  The Downy Woodpecker prefers suet while the Chipping Sparrow, Titmice and Chickadees quickly empty the black oil sunflower seeds. A Yellow-rumped Warbler checks out the action, but never approaches the feeder.

Tuesday, 4:02 PM - Of course, my camera went with me on our day-after-Christmas get together at my brother-in-law’s house in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Being a sunny day, we did the obligatory family photos out in his front yard. While getting those family shots, I kept hearing persistent and raucous Red-shouldered Hawk screeches from the backyard.
 
Going into the back to investigate, I first spotted a pair of Red-shoulders sitting side-by-side in silhouette against the lowering sun to my left. I was satisfied I had found the source of the caterwauling until more shrieks came from my right in the other neighbor’s yard. A second pair of Red-shouldered Hawks illuminated by the beautiful “golden hour” light!
 
As I watched the second pair, one bird remained perched while the other poked around in a bundle of sticks high in the tree. She then flew to a second tree and onto a much more developed nest. Using her talons, she fluffed up a bundle of grasses. It looked like it could make quite a comfortable hammock… if you weren’t intimidated by heights!

​An equally loud Red-bellied Woodpecker perched high over my head wasn’t dissuaded from the area by the presence of these four birds of prey.
 
Four Red-shouldered Hawks in such close proximity? What would bring them here? Obviously it was the prospects of an easy meal should my brother-in-law and his neighbors let their chickens out of the coops to roam!

​​Tuesday, 5:31 PM – In the former days, when extended families still lived together on the family farm, “home for the holidays” simply meant that everybody was there, it was a day off work, and nobody traveled. Today, many of us no longer live in the immediate area of the rest of our family. Therefore, “home for the holidays” means stuffing suitcases and pushing through crowded airports. Going home means navigating jammed highways and following GPS directions to our destination. But at travel’s end, we enjoy a time of merriment with our families.

For others, “home for holidays” might not be as joyful a phrase. Many will miss a loved one because they won’t be home, whether for just that holiday, or forever. It can be a phrase that evokes sadness at the holiday season.

Three years ago, a friend of mine lost her second husband. She had been widowed many years before but later in life found another man, a true gentleman, and love was rekindled. This new husband, after only two years of marriage to my friend, suffered a tragic heart attack while the two were driving on the highway just before Christmas. Since it was one of Steve’s favorites, she chose to have the song, “I’ll be home for Christmas” played at his funeral. Now, whenever I hear that song, I think of Kristy and Steve and how he won’t be “home for the holidays.” But…

There will be a time that we truly can go home for the holidays; a joyful occasion where we will be reunited with those family members that we haven’t seen in long passages of time. Even if the present holidays bring us sadness, we can look forward with anticipation to a glorious reunion. This world is not our home. There exists a lasting, permanent home beyond this one. But just as important as the GPS on that drive to the family Christmas party, be sure to follow the road atlas to that eternal home!

​Monday, 11:27 AM – “Noel” was a gorgeous girl that was picked up stray by a Walton County Animal Control officer on December 14, 2017. She was quite the unique looking girl with the narrow body and facial conformation of a Greyhound, and the merle coat of a Catahoula. When her ears were back, she looked almost like a pure-bred sight hound.
 
She had obviously had a tough go at life so far. She was very underweight when she arrived at the shelter (which added to her Greyhound-like appearance), had runny stools, and tested heartworm positive. A quick deworming at intake and several healthy meals through the weekend got her quickly on the mend. The heartworms would take some treatment, but with pledges rolling in from generous sponsors, her rescue hopefully wasn’t an impossibility.
 
The lifting fog created a giant soft-box over the late morning sun creating some great lighting to capture this girls beautiful merle coat and golden brown eyes. 

​Monday, 7:58 AM – in the upper forties at sunrise; much warmer than Saturday’s 28° morning. The warmer air made for lots of fog on the drive into work. Before starting my day, I walked up to the main shelter pond to check for any new ducks. A female Hooded Merganser practiced solo dives out in the fog; a Kingfisher was barely discernable. Heading back into the office, a Song Sparrow was watching my footsteps as I passed by the blackberry and Mimosa tangles near the shelter back door. 

But in just three short weeks, I have become a smart phone zombie too. Well, maybe not as bad as the under-25 crowd. But still, the grip is tightening. My smart phone is now everywhere I go... even on the trails for weekend runs. And it didn't take long before I began to see the advantages of the phone’s built in camera. I’ve always lamented the fact that I missed so many great nature photography opportunities while trail running.

While in the midst of a 20-mile trail run this weekend at Sandy Creek Nature Center and Park, I broke out my new "essential appendage" and snapped a photo of the rising sun over the trail boardwalk.
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Wow. It actually looked pretty good! What if…? What if I could begin producing higher quality cell phone shots when my Nikon wasn’t available? What if there was a market for iphone nature photography for wallpaper backgrounds? Hmmmmm… could there be a boost in stock photo sales to help with shelter photography expenses?
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Yep. It didn’t take long. I’m “ibrainwashed”. ​