This was going to be a blog about transitioning from fall/Thanksgiving to winter/Christmas. I had some interesting pictures, but wanted a few more to represent nature transitioning. So I went to the beach. There I saw what had to be hundreds of birds sunning themselves. I parked right next to them, and made the mistake of opening my car door.
All of a sudden I was in the middle of a scene from The Birds. Not only did the birds take flight, but they attacked the car. We could hear them on the roof. The fellow in the picture at the top of the page was fluttering next to my window. I had to close the door and the window.
You can see the wings of two birds as they flew past my window in this frame.
My husband kept telling me they were going to leave bird dirt all over the car. That wasn't my biggest concern. How would we get out of there without backing over a bird? They were all around.
You can see two birds staring at the car in the picture above. I tried to get some good pictures of the ones that were actually dive bombing us, but they were too fast and I had to leave the window closed. Here's the best shot I got of one close by.
As we tried to leave the parking lot, they were all over the roadway and we kept our fingers crossed that we didn't kill one, though we inched our way out of the exit. Here they are at the exit...the only way out!
We did leave, and I don't think we killed anyone. There was also remarkably little bird dirt on the car when we got home.
Goes to show you, taking pictures can be quite adventurous.
Now I will go on with the blog I intended, a collection of photos that represent seasonal transition in my community.
In the early pictures the vibrant colors of autumn are displayed in the trees. There is a squirrel's nest, because those furry critters have to get ready for winter. There is a pumpkin, with a bit eaten out of it. The animals are bulking up for the long, lean months ahead.
You will note the Thanksgiving theme in some of the pictures, and you will see the decorations on houses change from Thanksgiving to Christmas. In some of the houses I noticed a kind of seasonal schizophrenia, as both Thanksgiving and Christmas were represented. Notice the juxtaposition of Pilgrims, turkey, Santa Claus and manger in the picture below.
Some of the pictures in this collection show a chilly shore. I was hoping to capture more shore pictures when the birds put an end to that plan.
I remember last year at this time. We were new in our house and we went down to the shore on Christmas Day to celebrate our new beginning. It was colder on that day than in the pictures here. I'm sure the swans were gone on that day.
Please note the Christmas pictures taken at night may be a little blurry, but Christmas decorations are really a night affair around here. Houses are ablaze with lights. So I tried to capture that atmosphere. Some people actually hire companies to put their lights up. Not us.
My daughter decorated the house. She's not done. This is the way it looks so far. You can see my daughter and her dog, at the front door.
We were leaving the house, getting ready for our evening walk. When we started to walk it was 38° F. By the time we got home, it was 35° F, quite cold. I took the pictures of the lit houses on that walk.
LIL
The pictures in this blog (below) are intended to be additions to LMAC's LIL Gallery, the LMAC Image Library. Once a picture is included in the Gallery it goes into the public domain. Anyone on Hive may borrow pictures from the Gallery, and anyone on Hive may contribute to the Gallery.
There are now almost 15,000 pictures in the LMAC library. This is a rich resource for the Hive community, and has grown entirely from community participation.
If you are interested in helping the library grow even larger, instructions for contributing and borrowing may be found at @shaka's blog, here. While you're there you might be inspired to join in our collage contest. The contest was the original impetus for the creation of the library.
I hope you are entertained by my bird adventure, and by my LIL pictures. It would be wonderful if someone made use of these pictures.
Peace and health to all. Hive on!
All photos posted here are mine, shot by me.
| Autumn Tree | Tree, Autumn, Nature |  |
| Autumn Tree | Red Tree, Autumn, Nature, Fall |  |
| Brilliant Red Tree | Autumn, Fall, Nature |  |
| Partially Eaten Pumpkin | Autumn, Pumpkin, Fall, Nature |  |
| Squirrel Nest | Squirrel Nest, Nature, Tree, Autumn |  |
| Scarecrow Doll | Autumn, Scarecrow, Halloween, Fall |  |
| Scarecrow Doll | Scarecrow, Halloween, Autumn |  |
| Scarecrow Doll | Scarecrow, Halloween, Decoration |  |
| Straw Decoration | Autumn, Fall, Pumpkin, Straw |  |
| Swans in Autumn | Water, Horizon, Sky, Swans, Nature |  |
| Seagulls in Late Autumn | Seagulls, Birds, Nature |  |
| Thanksgiving Display | Door, Autumn |  |
| Egret at the Shore | Shore, Egret, Pier, Boats, Nature, Water |  |
| Wreaths on a House | Christmas, Wreaths, House, Decoration |  |
| House Decorated for Christmas | Christmas, Reindeer, Santa, Decorations |  |
| House Decorated for Christmas | Christmas, House, Decorations |  |
| Grinch Stealing Christmas Tree | Christmas, Grinch, Decorations House |  |
| Blue Reindeer | Christmas, Decoration, Reindeer in Lights |  |
| Santa, Reindeer, Polar Bears | Christmas, Santa, Polar Bear, Reindeer, Decorations |  |
| House Decorated for Christmas | Christmas, Decorations, Lights |  |
| Mr. and Mrs. Claus With Dog | Christmas, Santa, Mrs. Claus, Dog, Decorations |  |
| Christmas Reindeer | Christmas, Reindeer, Decorations |  |
| Christmas Reindeer | Christmas, Reindeer, Decorations |  |
| Shop With Christmas Pillows | Craft Shop, Christmas, Pillows |  |
| Gazebo at Christmas | Gazebo, Christmas, Town Center |  |
| House Decorated for Christmas | Christmas, Decorations, House |  |
| House Decorated for Christmas | Christmas, House, Decorations |  |
| Snowman With Christmas Tree | Christmas, Snowman, Christmas Tree, Decorations |  |
| Snowman With Presents | Christmas, Snowman, Gift Boxes, Decorations |  |
| Christmas Puppy | Christmas, Puppy, Decorations |  |
| Blow-up Turkey | Thanksgiving, Turkey, Decoration, Holiday, Cutout |  |
| Christmas Cow | Christmas, Cow, Decoration, Cutout |  |
| Santa Claus | Christmas, Santa, Cutout |  |
| Santa | Christmas, Santa, Cutout |  |
| Christmas Puppy | Christmas, Puppy, Cutout |  |
| Snowman for Christmas | Christmas, Snowman, Cutout |  |
| Christmas Penguin on Skates | Christmas, Penguin, Skates, Cutout |  |
| Reindeers | Reindeer Cutout, Christmas |  |
| Christmas Tree | Christmas, Tree, Cutout |  |
| Christmas Ornament | Christmas Ornament, Cutout |  |
