Of course, that’s not to say it isn’t winter, and nature has responded in her usual way of bare trees and birds migrating to warmer climes. Melissa and I put up a bird feeder outside the living room window, and the birds that haven’t left are making good use of it—especially when it snows. There’s a flock of sparrows spending the nights in a cedar bush next to the house and every morning they head over to the feeder for breakfast. The record so far is nine sparrows sitting down at once, accompanied by much squeaking and wing-flapping. Sparrows may look cute, but they’re quite vicious: they keep trying to push each other off, sometimes flying up from a little distance and knocking another, sometimes pecking at one another with their little beaks.

Other visitors to the feeder include a couple of chickadees and five or six cardinals (three male, two or three female) and, rather surprisingly, a hairy woodpecker (haarspecht). The hairy is a medium-sized woodpecker, growing to about 25 cm or 10 in. The feeder is shaped like a tube and is maybe 40 cm (16 in) tall, so the hairy woodpecker pretty much dwarfed the thing and was unable to get much out of it. It sat on the feeder for a while, undecisive, before flying off again. We haven’t seen it since, but we liked it so much that we’re going to put up a larger feeder to try and attract more of its kind.

Speaking of woodpeckers, I went out for a walk yesterday at Parker Mill Park (just east of AA) and spotted a red-bellied woodpecker (roodbuikspecht):

Let me take this opportunity to point out that bird names, in my opinion at least, do not always make sense. The red-bellied’s belly isn’t really red, nor is the hairy’s plumage in any way hairy. If an ornithologist or other expert happens to read this, feel free to enlighten me.

Here are some more recent bird pictures. The first one I took yesterday in Gallup Park, the others date back to Christmas at Melissa’s family.

A ring-billed gull (ringsnavelmeeuw) in winter coat, though it could also be a herring gull (zilvermeeuw) in winter coat.

A blue jay (blauwe gaai).

A black-capped chickadee (Amerikaanse matkop).

A tufted titmouse (tweekleurige mees).

The American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls at night. More pictures here.

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Many misconceptions exist about Hell. You’ve probably heard that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Right? Forget it. The road to Hell actually isn’t paved at all. It’s packed dirt:

So what about that yellow roadsign? Let’s have a closer look:

Did you expect anything else? No, didn’t think so.

The inhabitants of Hell, it turns out, are quite a friendly folk. Entering their domain, you’re bidden a warm hot welcome:

And there’s a handy pole with directions from Hell to other places worth visiting:

Of course, Hell wouldn’t be complete without a place of worship. It’s just a small chapel, but it’s good enough if you’re looking for some spiritual guidance. Thinking about marrying in Hell? The people of Hell will make it a day you’ll never forget. Use of the chapel comes with a free photo shoot at a scenic location.

Finally, the environmentally conscious traveler will be happy to know the people of Hell do their part, too. Friendly signs urge visitors to keep the river clean, so that future generations can continue to enjoy its beauty:

And all of that just twenty miles northwest of Ann Arbor. Who would’ve thought that Hell was such a nice and accessible place?

Close-up of a trumpeter swan.

A fresh coat of snow covers the trees on the Pond’s northern shore, but the retreating ice shows that spring is getting near.

Buffleheads are a small type of duck, adorned with a striking band of green and purple and black. This one was too far off for a truly good shot, but I did catch it at just the right time.

As usual, the full album is hosted at Picasa Web. New pictures start at number 56.

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Bonus: cropping to just the swans

Pretty cool shot, eh? It’s zooming in on a picture I took this afternoon, which itself was already a close-up. If your screen has good enough contrast, you can just make out the black pupil at the very center (about four times the width of the mouse pointer), embedded in the slightly lighter iris. Mirrored in the iris is a sidewalk next to snow-covered grass, basking under a bright winter sun. But look closely, and there’s more to see: trees, a car (far left), and two people (one standing, and kneeling).

Care to guess what animal this is? Leave your answer in the comments.