American Crow

This fellow, is one of two, that have recently started visiting my feeder. The photo at the top of my blog is him, too, giving a scolding to the ever present squirrels to move on.

The two come for the unshelled peanuts that I include in the morning replenishment of the feeder as they are also a favorite of Blue Jays. Both the Crows and Jays keep the resident Hawk at bay from snacking on the little song birds.

I had the darnedest time trying to photograph them as they kept one eye on me, which you can see here, even though I was behind glass and would barely move except to trigger the shutter. I'd move just a tad and they'd be gone. But my diligence paid off with these shots or maybe the crow finally gained some trust in me.

They are terribly handsome birds, impressive and intelligent.

I jog early in the morning, and encounter other Crows flying overhead calling to each other.

Caw! Caw! Caw!

One day I decided to caw back and it's become part of my morning run. They caw, I caw. They seem to know me.

One morning, after I was at the end of the jog and just about to start the walk down my driveway, I heard a loud caw coming from behind. I quickly turned around and saw a crow on the roof of my neighbors house staring at me with several other crows around him. They played a practical joke on me. I have no doubt they secretly followed me home to give me a little surprise.

Kiss me

A frog garden statue's patina, long faded by the sun, is replaced by green algae that keeps him handsome while he waits for a kiss that will turn him into a prince.

Algae is a diverse group of simple photosynthetic organisms ranging from the very small to that of seaweed, which is the largest. It is often seen growing on fences, pavement, outdoor furniture and garden statues like this handsome frog. And, it is the organism that clings to submerged objects such as sunken ships that becomes the foundation for artificial reefs.

Tenacity

Mount St. Helens, a volcano in the Cascade range of Washington State, blew its side out on May 18, 1980

In the immensity of the blast, it caused a massive mud flow.

The evidence can still be seen in these images take in 2013. The blast completely altered the landscape and decimated the surrounding forest.

Trees were felled by the thousands as was much of the life that depended on the forest.

But life is tenacious and hangs on despite calamity.

Life is slowly returning to the landscape and it's a delight to see the different kinds of wildflowers blooming where so much destruction took place.

 In the barren yet volcanic rich soil plants are slowly taking root and reseeding the area.

 These durable plants are reminders of the tenacity of life . . .

 . . . and are smiles of resilience against hard times.