Welcoming the sun with open arms

A three hour + winter walk in a local park this morning made me long for a reminder of summer : ) So, here is a Rudbeckia flower that was growing at the Calgary Zoo early in October. The temperature today was only -12C/10F (supposed to be -28C/-18F on Sunday!) and in fact it was really beautiful out. Not sure where all the birds were - perhaps huddled in tree cavities or deep in amongst the branches. I've barely been out walking the last six weeks or so, so I knew I would be walking in agony, but just had to force myself to do it : ) We were lucky enough to see a Townsend's Solitaire - if I don't have a photo of this species on Flickr, I might just post one of the very distant photos I took today). Also, just before we got back to the parking lot, we stood and watched two Ravens way up high, either harassing or just playing with a Rough-legged Hawk. This went on for a long time : ) I was thrilled to bits when we came across a Spruce tree that someone had decorated with coloured baubles and a few other Christmas ornaments. Haven't downloaded them yet, but a couple of shots might be OK to post - other than the fact that there was just no way to take photos of them without getting my own reflection in them, LOL.