Camera Critters #38

Kalea "Prow Prow" Kitty...

Ollie...

and Trooper...

... would like to wish all of our Camera Critters friends a very
Happy New Year!

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Ho! Ho! Ho!

Hubby Jim is a member of a service club up here in Big Bear and this year he was chosen to be a "Special Santa". Special Santa delivers toys and food baskets to families in need here in town. Jim loves playing Santa Claus... he says it's a wonderful feeling when he can help make a child's Christmas just a little bit brighter.

From our family to yours, we would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Camera Critters #37

Oh boy, oh boy, OH BOY! We got lots of cold white stuff this week and I sure LOVE playing in it!


I found my blue dinosaur toy... now where did I leave my chew bone?

Yoo Hoo! Mr. Squirrel! I can see you up there in the tree...

Hey! Pffffft! No fair! Stop dropping the white stuff on me!

Awwww Mom... Do I have to come inside now?

Trooper (and the rest of our family) would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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What a difference a day makes...

If you compare this photo to the first photo in my previous post you can see that's it's basically the same view. The main difference is that today we had plenty of sunshine and blue skies all day long!

We live on a cul-de-sac which means the snow plow driver pushes all of the snow to our end of the street. We now have a mini Mt. Everest in front of our house. I took this picture of Jim with the snowblower to illustrate how tall these mountains of snow are... Jim is 6' tall and he's dwarfed by the snow.

I thought this icicle was pretty hanging off of a tree branch...

After I shoveled off our deck I replenished all of the bird and squirrel feeders. This squirrel was getting very impatient with me. He was chattering at me LOUDLY and slapping the branch with his front feet. It was almost as if he was saying "put down that camera and give me something to eat!"

Trooper absolutely LOVES playing in the snow. He spent nearly the entire afternoon romping through the fresh powder.

The kitty preferred to observe the snow from inside of the house where it was nice and warm. I think she had the right idea!

Be careful what you wish for...

There has been a lot of grumbling here in Big Bear lately about the lack of snow this season. Now after nearly three straight days of heavy snowfall everyone is saying enough already! Of course the fresh snow is great for our local ski resorts... I'm sure the skiers and snowboarders will be up here in droves this weekend.

I spotted this little guy during a break in the weather today. If you click on the picture you can see a little speck of snow on the tip of his nose.

Not to be outdone, Trooper also has a blob of snow on his nose!

I don't usually decorate very much for the holidays but I saw this wreath at Costco and I couldn't resist buying it. We're keeping our fingers crossed for nice weather tomorrow. After three days of gloomy skies it will be wonderful to see the sun again!

The Weather Outside Is Frightful...

We had our first significant snowfall of the season today. This is what we woke up to this morning.

Hubby Jim was out with the snowblower early in the day... it was almost a losing battle as the snow was falling as quickly as he could clear it out.

I was surprised to see so many birds at the feeder during the storm. Here's a Stellar Jay peeking at me through the living room window.

I'm not positive but I think this chubby guy is a White Crowned Sparrow. He's not exactly undernourished is he?

Even the squirrels were out in force. I leave plenty of nuts out for the squirrels... we have a sign next to our front door that says "Welcome To The Nuthouse!"

This little finch was trying to stay dry underneath the tree branches...

Mr. Sparrow was happy to pose for me. I love the markings on his head. We have more snow in the forecast tomorrow which means more shoveling! Aaargh!

Camera Critters #36

My husband and I decided to visit our local zoo a few days ago and I managed to get some shots of a Snowy Owl. Unfortunately almost all of the birds and animals were behind chain link fences so it was difficult to take unobstructed photos of the zoo residents. In this photo I tried to zoom in between the "links" of the fence. (You can click on the photos to view a larger image.)

I found these interesting facts about the Snowy Owl on the All About Birds website..

*Snowy Owl pairs fiercely defend their nests against predators, even wolves.

*An individual Snowy Owl may eat 3-5 lemmings per day, or up to 1,600 per year.

*The Snowy Owl can be found represented in cave paintings in Europe.

My husband was able to get closer to the fence and he managed to take these unobstructed shots of the owl.

From the National Geographic website... The snowy owl is a patient hunter that perches and waits to identify its prey before soaring off in pursuit. Snowy owls have keen eyesight and great hearing, which can help them find prey that is invisible under thick vegetation or snowcover. The owls deftly snatch their quarry with their sharp talons.

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Camera Critters #35

Small horns...

Medium horns...



BIG horns!

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Elf Yourself!

Just a silly video starring all of our animal friends...

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