Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Snowboarding and snowbirding...

Late yesterday afternoon I took Matty and his friend, Chet, to Pine Hill Lakes for a little snowboarding. While they snowboarded, I snowbirded...

Nothing beats the stunning red of a Northern Cardinal against the snow.
We were at Pine Hill Lakes the same time last year, and a cardinal stole the show then too.

Muffled shrieks and laughter from kids having fun on the sledding hills drifted down with the snowflakes as I sat in a little snowbank watching this male Northern Cardinal survey the land.

Matty snowboarding past me.

...running up that hill! It's fast down...but slow back up!

25 comments:

Janice K said...

Looks like a great winter afternoon to me. Loved the pictures of your "red" friend, and Matty looked like he was having a great time too.

Enjoy the snow!

Kathy A. Johnson said...

I love cardinals--and this one sure shows up nicely against his snowy backdrop. Sounds like a great day for all of you!

Montanagirl said...

Stunning shots of the Cardinal, Kelly! They are such a beautiful bird! And Matty's a very nice-looking boy as well! lol

grammie g said...

HI Kelly...That's the worst part having to climb back up,but the thrill of the ride down makes up for that!!
Beautiful cardinal photo's..thery are just wonderful in winter snow "breath taking".
I saw 4 while I was walking yesterday,but I don't have the capability to get a decent photo of them !!
I want to go sliding, but can't find anybody, or anybody's kids to borrow to go with me. lol : } Can I borrow your"s : }}
Snowing and blowing here, 4 inches so far... expecting up to 10 inches!!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Cute, Kelly.... I love to snowbird also!!!!! My birds really appreciate me feeding them --especially now that we have had so much snow. And--they love the new heated birdbath.
Hugs,
Betsy

Chris said...

Snowboard as well as snowbirding seem to be quiet a fun! Beautiful shots of the cardinla in this snow Kelly!

holdingmoments said...

A stunner of a bird. Such a rich colour.

Ken. said...

Hi Kelly.
Great shots of the Cardinal bird, although it is a bit gaudy for my taste.
Happy New Year.

FAB said...

Not sure I could cope with the energetic snowboarding BUT relaxed snow birding with such a colourful species sounds great fun. FAB.

Warren Baker said...

Those Cardinals stand out so much Kelly, makes you wonder how they avoid the hawks!

PS got your book today, e-mailed you about it :-)

Laure Ferlita said...

Not sure it that qualifies as "multi-tasking" but it's definitely time well spent - for all of you!

I can't believe how much Matty's changed—his face is thinning out and he looks older!

Dave said...

Great shots Kelly!
I have yet to get a good one myself...one of these days...

forgetmenot said...

Beautiful cardinal! So bright and colorful. Matty, your son???, is a great looking kid! Snowboarding is such fun for the "young".

Kelly said...

...yes, ma'am. Matty is my son. You're right Laure...he has grown so much. He's gotten taller and thinner. Those growing spurts are really handy!!

SouthernHeart said...

Awesome photos! You should publish a book of photos! Have you already done that and I just missed it?! What type of camera do you have? Of course, I could have the same identical camera and not get THESE photos! ;-)

Blessings,
Dianne
http://www.mysouthernheart.com

Kelly said...

Diane...no book of photos, but that would be cool! Thank you!! My camera gear is:
Nikon D700
Nikon AF-S VR-Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8G lens
Nikon 2x teleconverter
For distance shots I crop the images down in Aperture (I'm a Mac). The lens is nice because it has vibration reduction, which makes the cropped image quality acceptable.

E said...

Beautiful, great pics, Kelly. Congrats.
Did you get the mail for Matt?
Hugs,

Jayne said...

Man, but he looks SO grown up in that last photo. :c)
I sense a painting of that first Cardinal photo in the works! Thanks again for my sweet surprises Kelly. Truly, I LOVE them!

MjB said...

How do you keep the Cardinals in focus while you're snowboarding?

Take care,
---Mike

Kelly said...

Ena....yes, I did. Thank you! I was working on putting a thank you package together!

jayne...as a matter of fact...there is a painting in the works. Right now, I'm planning it in my head. It will probably be a watercolor.

Mike...hehe...practice, man! Also...being a yoga teacher really helps! :-)

Unknown said...

Beautiful photos. Cardinals make winter that much more tolerable.

Kelly said...

Thank you!!! I just love seeing Red in the snow. Today I was home from work and every time I looked out the window I would see 7-10 sitting in the trees looking fabulous.

Kerri Farley said...

How FUN!

Valerie said...

Wow! Such fantastic pictures - with gorgeous clarity!!

Love them all.

Caroline said...

Fabulous little birds - would love to see one in real life! Looked like the snowboarders had a great day!