A lovely surprise...

While we were doing our morning meditation - we face the window looking out onto the bird feeder....we could hear them before we saw them...an amazingly large flock of grosbeaks!   I got up off the cushion very slowly, and wished i had my camera close by, but of course i didn't and they are so skittish they would have gone if i'd made a move! They fed for a bit then took off!  Anyway, about 15 minutes later, while i was having something to eat, they appeared - not so many this time, but a few, so i flew upstairs, grabbed the camera and managed to get a couple of shots. 

They really are the most amazing looking birds!

And another lovely surprise this morning...a good friend from over 30 years ago, sent me a lovely email with photos of him and his kids....we connect maybe once every couple of years, but still i'm just so happy when friends from my other life - he was also a craftsman, and we did the big shows together.....remain in my life!   Just so important - i also found out that another friend, here on Cape Breton Island, died yesterday!  Carole was an artist, a potter and a warm and generous soul...i think she might have been in her 80's. and had been sick, so not such a shock, but still very sad!

Well it's almost the end of 2022....what will 2023 have in store for us eh!!!