Jay in the Garden (Hi Nessa thanks for stopping by)

""Oh look!" 

There, on the black bough of a snow flecked maple, 

Fearless and gay as our love, 

A bluejay cocked his crest! 

Oh who can tell the range of joy 

Or set the bounds of beauty? "

from A Winter Blue Jay

by Sara Teasdale

" I would clothe you in feathers

You are too bare in your long bones when the wind

sighs in the snow

You are the movement of birds"

from Words from the Aviary

(for Monique)

by D.G. Jones

It is snowing today. but I am cheating these photos were taken during a snow fall in early Oct. I suspect my favourite winter birds are the Dark-Eyed Juncos, who appear with the snow and disappear when it does. This year we had lots. They really seemed to be interested in the small seeds that fell from the volunteer weeds in  the patio, which we left in place. The Juncos interest me  because of their subtle colours and also the variation between birds. According to the Canadian Wildlife Federation our weeds, twiggy yard and lack of a fall cleanup was just what Junco's like. We also had a lot of fall warblers so this is a strategy we plan to stick to. 

http://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/encyclopedias/fauna/birds/dark-eyed-junco.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIx6n5mtWI5gIVRCCtBh16bQHXEAAYASAAEgJxPPD_BwE

Haunted Florence

“Every moment of the night

Forever changing places

And they put out the star-light 

With the breath from their pale faces” 

― Edgar Allen Poe

Florence Sept. 2019 / The Arno River rose to its highest levels today since 1992.

“Everything about Florence seems to be colored with a mild violet, like diluted wine.”

Henry James

It does not seem to end.

https://www.theflorentine.net/news/2019/11/flooding-tuscany-florence/

Venice Sept 2019 Reflections

“White swan of cities slumbering in thy nest…
White phantom city, whose untrodden streets
Are rivers, and whose pavements are the shifting
Shadows of the palaces and strips of sky.”


Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Venice 2019 Thinking of you.

Florence

"Through these old streets I wander dreamily; 
Around me Florence sweeps her busy tide of life." 

-William Leighton