Waxwings chatting and taking a break in their travels

My last post was a photo of what I believe are Bohemian waxwings (sidensvanser in Norwegian) sitting together happily in the tree across the street from where we live. After listening to them 'chatting' together, I am pretty sure that they are Bohemian waxwings because they have a high trill sirrr as mentioned on the link in my previous post. You can hear that in this short video. They are migratory birds, so I wonder where they came from and where they were off to. In any case, they decided to take a short break from their trip in this tree, and it was just so enjoyable to listen to them.

Birds having a pow-wow

A gray day today, and rather chilly, but that didn't stop the birds from having a pow-wow in the tree that you can see from our kitchen window. I used my telephoto lens to get a close-up view of this important meeting. If you look carefully at the topmost branch on the left, you'll see a bird leaning down toward the other birds, almost as though he had something to say or as though he was listening to the others. As I've said so many times before, birds rule. I have no idea why they do what they do, just that I enjoy watching them do what it is they want to do. Why they were all gathered in this one tree is a mystery; perhaps they were planning their migratory activities, if indeed these are migratory birds. I'm not sure what kind of birds they are either. What I do know was that they were chirping and singing and having a great time.

After a few days of searching the web for what kind of birds they might be, I think these are Bohemian waxwings (sidensvanser in Norwegian). You can check out this link for more information on them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_waxwing   They are migratory birds. 

Paris in my mind and heart

A carpet of leaves

Autumn is upon us; one might expect it to be chilly here in Oslo, but it's not. The temperatures have been fairly mild for the past few weeks. Today's temperature approached 60 degrees Fahrenheit during mid-afternoon; I can't remember when it's been so warm in November. Last year around this time we were dealing with icy rain and near-freezing temperatures. A cold winter is predicted for Norway, but we'll have to wait and see. Meanwhile, the tree outside our bedroom window has not shed its leaves, although many other trees have. I went for a walk in St. Hanshaugen Park this afternoon, and the paths were covered with leaves, as were the lawns and hillsides. Very pretty--the carpets of leaves.

a view of the Oslo fjord from the top of the hill in St. Hanshaugen Park

An amazing voice

It's impossible not to be moved by this song. She has an amazing voice and she sings with so much emotion.

Halloween 2015 in Oslo

Carved pumpkin, check. Flashing skulls with different colored lights hanging in the kitchen window, check. Candy for the kids, check. Halloween decorations here and there in the house, check. Each year at Halloween, I feel like Linus in Peanuts waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear. I wait for the kids in the neighborhood to ring the doorbell for candy. We actually got a few children tonight made up as zombies and witches, and that makes my Halloween. But some years there have been none. Nothing to do about it, except hope that next year will be better. I've written about Halloween before, about how I began to celebrate it here in Oslo and how much I look forward to it: http://paulamdeangelis.blogspot.no/2011/10/before-and-after-pumpkin-shots.html.

Halloween is now widely-celebrated in Norway; most people seem to enjoy it but there are always those who are against it. The pettiness of a few does not destroy the spirit and enthusiasm of the many, thankfully. A number of stores sell costumes, wigs, hats, candy, candles and all sorts of Halloween decorations and accessories. Nille is one of those stores; it's right down the road from where we live. I can't tell you how many times I've been there to buy one or another Halloween item during this past week. The candle holders shown in the photos were purchased at Nille. A far cry from 1997 when I bought most of the items I needed for a Halloween party in New York on one of my visits. I had to plan well in advance to make that party happen, but it did and it was successful. The convenience of being able to buy what I need here now is something I am quite happy about. 

Wishing you all a Happy Halloween!

Nille and its Halloween displays

Zombie hand candle holder

Spider candle holder

Birds have their favorite perches

If you look out our kitchen window (facing east), you will see a tall tree that is popular with the birds in our neighborhood--crows, magpies, thrushes, starlings, and sparrows. They each seem to have their favorite perch spots.This fellow enjoys his bird's eye view of our Oslo neighborhood. For the past few evenings, he has found his favorite perch high up in this tree in order to calmly survey the world around him. I managed to snap a few shots of him just sitting there watching the world go by.

The colors of autumn sunrises

I took some sunrise photos during this past week, and here are the results--a truly spectacular blending of light and colors. There is nothing quite like an autumn sunrise to inspire the soul.

Finnair ad: baby reindeer trying to find his way home

The holidays are coming, and this wonderful little ad for Finnair is a touching reminder of the joy of coming home to loved ones and the meaning of family.

You can read more about this little video here: http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2005/finnair-reindeer-poro/

My WriteOn by Kindle author page

Check out my WriteOn by Kindle author page--https://writeon.amazon.com/search?headerQuery=paula%20mary%20de%20angelis&ref_=ign_d_tn_sr_ac

Two short stories so far, and more to come........

My second short story--An Unusual Offer--posted on WriteOn by Kindle

My second short story, just posted to WriteOn by Kindle. You may be getting the idea that I'm putting together a collection of short stories. You'd be right. I'm doing just that--a collection that I'm planning to entitle Survivable Losses. I'm on my way..........

http://tinyurl.com/o5sgnav

October morning and night skies

Some recent beautiful October morning and night skies--all of them remind me that we live on a planet that is part of an incredible universe. Imagine how the skies might look if we were standing on a planet further from the sun........

Music that leads to other music...............

Listening to Decktonic's music at the beginning of the TriClub2015 video somehow reminded me of music that my sister and I used to listen to when we were teenagers--the song Cosmic Messenger by Jean-Luc Ponty. Here it is.......

Drone view video of the TriClub 2015 triathlon

Just thought you might like to see a video created by the woman who has done the graphic design for most of the covers of my books. Her name is Paloma and this is her first drone view video. Give it a look! It's beautiful, and I love the accompanying music!

My first short story--The Kiss--posted on WriteOn by Kindle

I mentioned in my last post that I would be sharing some short stories that I have written, with you. I have chosen to start publishing them on WriteOn by Kindle, since I am both a Kindle fan and a Kindle author (and a fan of Amazon that makes this all possible). You can find the first short story I've posted, entitled The Kiss, here at this link:

http://tinyurl.com/o33sv5b

Enjoy, and if any of you would like to comment, please do so!