Happy New Year!

From one little bird to another.....

American Goldfinch and House Finch

House Finch

Western Scrub Jay

Western Scrub Jay

Red Breasted Nuthatch

Here's wishing all my friends a Happy New Year!

  Looking forward to 2013 in My Mountain Green!

Pretty Bird, Angry Bird

Evening Grosbeak, a Winter bird for my part of Utah, is a strikingly beautiful bird which to me looks like an angry bird with a bright yellow uni-brow!  

First there was one......



Then a few more, even a female American Goldfinch...

How many do you see below?

Including the blurry one, I count 6!

On this gray, overcast day, the grosbeaks are eating me out of house and home. 

 Just a few more shots...

Pretty bird even though he does look angry!

As I am getting used to my new camera, these shots were the first ones taken and were on the auto setting.  Not sure that is the best setting for these photos, but it's a start for me. I'll figure it out eventually as I continue to play with the features.

Hope you enjoyed the Evening Grosbeaks.  Thanks for stopping by My Mountain Green.  

It Can't Be...Already!

As I look at my last blog post, I realize that some time has past. Plus the fact that yesterday, my friend, Kathie of Kathie' s Birds, pointed out to me Summer was over whether I liked it or not,  blooming cactus and leafy trees just did not cut it anymore!  It can't be.....I am not ready!  


Time has flown by for me, the seasons have changed too soon as well!  Fall was absolutely stunning, yet short and sweet.

Even a couple of visitors loved the aspens in my yard....






Winter decided he wants to display his full glory this year by showing up early.  Several significant snowfalls have blanketed the landscape already. 

Front Porch

Back yard patio & deck

Balcony view

Have a seat!

The Big Green Egg 

So stop on by for a bbq and a glass of wine on the patio!


To celebrate my birthday, my sweet husband gave me a  Canon PowerShot ELPH110HS.  So I hope to have better photos in future posts.  

It's time for me to embrace Winter and enjoy the beauty of My Mountain Green in its "white" palate.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Simple Beauty....

Or Exquisite Beauty... the cactus blossoms are so stunning as compared to the very prickly nature of the cactus. 

Life sometimes reflects the same.  

While the everyday details of life and summer travel are keeping me extremely busy as well as distracted, the simple beauty of nature reminds me to slow down and enjoy the glory of creation. 

Thanks for stopping by My Mountain Green.

Bright and Beautiful

After 3 days of rain and high temps in the 40Fs,

 this Memorial Day awoke to fabulous sunshine!

So what else would I do, but venture out to my balcony to enjoy my hot tea and read a good book while soaking up some rays?!


Hope you enjoyed a little snapshot of My Mountain Green!

Nesting News

A beautiful sunny Friday morning beckoned me to soak in the sun's rays and to sip my coffee (from my favorite mug, of course) on the bedroom balcony.  While here I noticed some nesting activity in the trees below.  

I repositioned myself to the lower deck so I could get a better angle on the nesting boxes.  This is a major lesson in patience for me....my camera is a Canon Power Shot point and shoot camera, no bells and whistles, no sports mode, only a 16x zoom.  After about 100 photos and some major cussing over missed shots, these are the photos I got.  

Three Springs ago, I hung 2 nesting boxes in the trees on the south side of my house.  One on the far right, I purchased at the local hardware store and it is made out of pine.  The one on the left, I so crudely made from untreated cedar scraps I had left over from when I made garden boxes.  Not having my own table saw to cut the wood to size, I just pieced it together as best as I could with wood screws and chiseled a hole in the front for an opening hoping that the birds might use it. 

Well, I am happy to say, this year a pair of Black-Capped Chickadees have deemed my crudely made nesting box fit for their brood!  Getting the nesting box ready is in full swing with the pair flitting back and forth with nest materials. 

I recently noticed that tree bark from some of the scrub oaks near the balcony has been stripped.  Now I know why, the chickadees are stripping bark to use in the nest building.

"You lookin' at me?"

I was also happy to notice that one of the chickadees is the one I spotted several months ago which has the overgrown upper mandible.  No picture of it yet, still trying.

Going in....

Flying out....

While back on the balcony, I heard a noise just over the ridge line above my house.  

What is it?  Looks like 2 huge birds of prey.....

but take a closer look...

An air glider is being towed to altitude by a Cessna airplane.  Morgan County Airport located a few miles East of my canyon is the glider airport for Northern Wasatch Front mountains.  An amazing sight to watch the gliders soar!

Well, thanks for joining me on my Friday morning adventure in My Mountain Green.

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Rainy Day Visitors

While this weekend sports sunny blue skies and 70+F temps, the past week was a little unsettled with off & on showers and very gray skies, but that did not hinder many little visitors to my front yard bird feeders and eating every last seed!  Even a pair of Eurasian Collared Doves are hanging out each day...

Along with many American Goldfinches....

Almost standing on his head to get at that perfect seed!

This little Goldfinch is so obsessed with getting the seed he wanted he did not notice a House Finch landing nearby.  

If he does not watch out, he may get stuck!  He has his head stuck underneath the shield all the way to his wing bars!

Oh, yes, other visitors I saw that day were several Black-capped Chickadees, a Spotted Towhee, a female Red-Shafted Northern Flicker, a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, a couple of Western Scrub Jays, and a half of dozen Black-billed Magpies!

Every bird I saw this day in My Mountain Green are year round birds for my yard.  Last week while I was playing the in the Las Vegas Desert, the Dark Eyed Juncos decided to migrate out.  Now I am waiting for migrating birds and my usual Summer birds to show up.


Time to go outside and enjoy My Mountain Green! 

Red Rock Canyon - Las Vegas, Nevada

Last week, my husband and I took the 6 hour drive down to Las Vegas, Nevada to enjoy the food, wine, and sights of the desert for a few days.  On a beautiful, warm afternoon, Red Rock Canyon was our destination.  Unfortunately it was also the destination of hundreds of "spring break" visitors as well,  roads were congested, parking lots overflowing;  not my kind of enjoyment.  As a result, we did not even hike or climb.  We drove along the 13 mile road taking in the sights & scenery by car, while I took a few pictures, successfully not photographing any people. 

Red Rock Canyon lies west of Las Vegas, Nevada.  Its diverse rock formations are stunning.

Here are a few snapshots:

One of these days, My Mountain Green will venture back to Red Rocks to hike the trail leading into the box canyon in the above photo!  Without all the people next time!

While we did not have the experience we hoped, the stunning beauty of God's creation always lifts the soul.