Mirror Image...

After several weeks of seeing only an occasional American Goldfinch in the yard, suddenly today there were a dozen or so.  Even in their subdued winter plumage, they are still striking little things.  And very scrappy...they don;'t hesitate to go after birds nearly twice their size in an effort to get ALL the seeds for themselves.  They also tend to be skittish so I had to wait patiently (and motionlessly with camera lens raised) for quite a while to get this shot.  I snapped about 20 shots in a burst, hoping to get one where both birds were 1) relatively in focus, and 2) in the same pose.  This was the only one that met the criteria.  I like the stark background and the graceful drape of the  branches.  You'll be seeing a lot more of this background as winter moves in...

Lunch today with a dear friend whom I haven't seen in about 3 years.  We had a great time laughing and talking and catching up.  Otherwise, an uneventful day.  

Thank you so very much for all the love on yesterday's chipmunk!  No signs of the wee striped one today, so my guess is that s/he has returned to the den.  Generally, the chippies are tucked in for winter by now, having filled their larders with plenty of food.  Perhaps this one just felt the need to reinforce supplies?  Lots of squirrels about in our woods, scurrying around with big mouthfuls of leaves to line their nests - it is comical to see them running up the trees with these huge bunches of leaves clenched in their little jaws.  

Happy Hump Day, people...