Winter lays bare the twisted branches, bird’s nests, and mistletoe

in #photography6 years ago (edited)

MightyOak.jpg

My dog focuses on the ground when he walks. His powerful sense of smell gives him a window into the world that I do not have. When he walks our neighborhood, he is consumed with finding and evaluating all the latest scents. He wants to know which other dogs have visited his park and if they pose a threat. Squirrels, raccoons, and rabbits: they all leave a scent trail. Then he marks his territory by urinating every few steps so no one will doubt it’s his neighborhood.

My dog doesn’t look up, as his focus is below. Up above are trees and even I take them for granted for much of the year. In spring and in summer, the branches are covered with green leaves. I can see and hear birds flying around up there on a spring or summer day.

Green Oak .jpg

In autumn, these leaves turned color and blanketed the ground. My neighbors paid someone to clean up the mess and take it away, then paid more for mulch to spread around in their gardens. Meanwhile, I filled one garbage bag after another with colorful leaves from my neighborhood, transporting them to my garden, where they now serve as free mulch to cover and build the soil.

Leaves.jpg

There are fewer birds by the time winter comes. The smart ones have migrated south to find warmer weather with more insects and seeds. Soon, they will be back to join the hardy ones that have stayed all year: assorted blackbirds, sparrows, and some small chirpy thing that might be a vireo.

Woodpeckers have stayed also. Acorn woodpeckers make holes in the trees and fill them with acorns and other nuts. So they have a food supply throughout the year (as long as they can keep the squirrels from stealing them).

You might get seasick watching this GIF I created, since it’s a little shaky. I just pointed my phone camera upwards to capture this small bird far above me. You can see how they continue to peck holes in the trees, either for insects or to stuff later with acorns.

Deciduous trees become bony frames in winter. These branches and twigs once supported a tableau of changing colors throughout the seasons. Now stripped of their finery, only the structure remains, aside from a few leaves remaining on certain varieties of oaks. But winter also reveals some secrets.

Nest2.jpg
There's a nest. It was hidden until the leaves left the tree bare.

Nest6.jpg
This small one looks to be in a precarious position, but it seems to be strong.

Nest3.jpg
What kind of a mess is that? Only the squirrel knows.

Olive1.jpg
Olive trees still have some leaves and a few fruit that went unharvested. If this one had been in my yard, I'd have picked them all by now.

Mistletoe1.jpg
Oak mistletoe. Some species of oak trees drop their leaves and all that's left is this parasitic plant that grows on the branches. It's mistletoe.

Mistletoe2.jpg
People in some European countries put a clump of mistletoe in their house. When someone walks under it, they get a kiss.

Sycamore.jpg
A mighty sycamore tree goes bald as well, just like most of the oaks.

Thus we await spring and the new life it will bring.

All photos by the author or public domain. The green-leaved oak (second picture) is public domain from Pixabay. Woodpeckers made the GIF.

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SteemBirds Video Comment for @donkeypong

hello... i upvoted your blog and kindly upvote my blog as well...

It's nice to have a dog. I want to own a dog. But my wife has an allergy to the chefs. The dogs are very muscular and loyal animals. I have always loved and will love. Really the photos are refreshing the very beautiful human soul. The birds and squirrel cages in the photos are spectacular. The squirrel will not lose your way to your home. The birds gather so much material with their tiny bodies and build nests. This is the symbol of the ancestor.

I watched it in a documentary. There's a bird called juniper bird. Bi birds are also called hedgerows birds. This bird is very small in sparrow size. This bird of man alone builds a trellis into which a grown man can enter. It puts stones in various colors into this yuvan. To influence female birds. The last time he says the Night, he starts singing. To call the females around.

I saw the bird's nest in your photographs because I told you this and the arbor came to mind. I wanted to share this with you. I'll put a picture for you.

images.jpeg

That is amazing. Nature can be incredible sometimes.

Absolutely. Whenever I'm in trouble, this bird comes to mind. I am really taking the example of this bird and its success.

I am agree with you

@donkeypong, I couldn't agree more, as it created me! LOL
TBH, it's absolutely wonderful, its just simply full of wonder.

its alwaaaays incedible hey
I have been travelling the world and just got into steem it I would like to share some of teh beauties I got in pictures though to share with steem it community as well
Its a beautiful Article isnt it?

nature can not be guessed

This looks amazing! Did u camp here @darksea?

you read the above article. spam

Nature is so beautiful, I just love trees.

Very nice pictures. Thanks for the share!

nice photo.

amazing post my steemit friend wish you good luk i follow you

Nature is such a curencia.

Dogs are not the most graceful creatures. Bully parents know this all too well!

If you see a graceful dog doing his thing, point it out! Chances are, his owner probably already knows that he's a regal and majestic beast, but it doesn't hurt to give him a little ego boos

Nice post donkeypong. Right up my alley ;0) And I've never seen mistletoe grow! I'll have to keep an eye out for the stuff.

Regarding leaves as compost...In late fall, I like to put the bag on the mulching mower and collect a nice mulchy mix of green grass clippings along with the dropped leaves and then put that combo on the garden. This way, there is a combo of nitrogen (fertilizer) and carbon.

That's a good way to break up those leaves. Thanks for stopping by!

you're welcome !

Hi @donkeypong, This is an excellent post primarily for its description and then for the selection of the photos. Seems as if you are just like me. For example, this paragraph is exatly what I like:

In autumn, these leaves turned color and blanketed the ground. My neighbors paid someone to clean up the mess and take it away, then paid more for mulch to spread around in their gardens. Meanwhile, I filled one garbage bag after another with colorful leaves from my neighborhood, transporting them to my garden, where they now serve as free mulch to cover and build the soil.

Reading some book in the company of these autumn leaves would be nice.

I really like the creative side of this post the most.

Steem On!

awesome post my steemit friend wish you good luk

This is winter in all its glory. Trees falling and making a mess of the whole place is just 'winter'. All those leaves can be put to good use like you have. Thank you for sharing.

I'm appreciative of the pictures in this post...Being a photographer has heightened my senses towards everything...Everything is a picture..And I'm mostly drawn to nature.
Nice pictures..

I just had to mashup them up a bit because I love them.

DQmPZum6EmLVJEYoqirFy8Rpf6i8obxXSqaRpXpqT4p1H8j-01-01.jpeg

DQmTD6XWZvA9AFZt5GNtBBk9nXGE3WJ8WP7LSRYdPnaYVbG-01.jpeg

These pictures were edited on my smartphone. Using the google developed app "Snapseed".

I hope you like the new look.

Haha. Your graphic skills are better than mine.

Hahaha....not exactly sir.
You just decided not to edit the pictures.
I love editing pictures.
Meanwhile I worked on some others
DQmfWfRQTGC55BD1UT6cwfvnA1AUSBTgp3xhznqL5a2arYt_1680x8400-01.jpeg
The original image of this picture was over exposed and highly saturated. Maybe that was your specification, but I made it a little dim and add vignette. Making the sides a little dark and the leaves in the middle the point of attraction.

DQmTriGPmTpMrTQu3tGU5GLgdDCu6XcPjhH6dfQzknH8Uo1-01.jpeg
This leafy path is awesome. Wish I could take a walk there and snap awesome pictures of families.

Btw this a photo I snapped and edited on my smartphone.

FB_IMG_1517186580139.jpg

I'm eager to edit more photos you put out.

Thank you. I don't make many photo posts, but your versions are an improvement.

Thank you very much.
I'm appreciative

I stoped by and invited myself to your post here.lol I realy enjoyed your story, especially about the birds and squirrels. We have one black with one leg missing squirrel coming to our backyard so we feed him, we also have two birds cardinals family coming to us everyday for almost 5 years. There was one time when they came with their kids, only once, then they chased them away when the grew. I definitely prefer spring when everything comes to life. Following you!
It was nice to stop by.

That's wonderful. We fed the squirrels for a while, but they started climbing all around the house at all hours, so we stopped. Cardinals are beautiful birds. Yes, spring is special!

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