It has rained the last two weeks almost non-stop. It is cold and not nice to be outside, especially if the wind blows. I am a summer person, working in the garden almost daily, but the winter is not fun because of the unpleasantness outside. So I rarely see feathered friends, and also, I guess they are hiding from the cold as well. I rarely hear them. In the summer, even at the early hours of 4 am, the birds are awake. In the summer, when I get up in those early morning hours to bake, the birds sing to me. In the winter, there is a dead silence, or might I say a cold silence. But today, only the third day of sunshine, I heard the familiar sound of the cape white-eye! I know that their favorite tree or bush has sweet berries for them, and yes they were in it when I went to take a look. Due to it being winter, the sun does not shine from the same angles as in the summer. So the bush is halfway in the shadow. Using a manual camera, and trying to shoot fast-moving birds, it sometimes gets tricky. Some of the photographs are a bit dark, but it is so cute how you can see they are enjoying the sweet berries! So, please enjoy this stunning bird that visited my garden this morning even though it is still very cold.

The Shots: A Close-up of an Eye

The Artistic B&W Shot: Solitude

This shot "shouts" solitude to me. It looks like he/she is so alone, almost as if you would like to put your arm around its back and tell him/her it will be alright.