Cedar Waxwings

My first bird of the new year was a Tufted Titmouse on my deck.

My first road trip of the new year was to Uxbridge Community Gardens.  A flock of Cedar Waxwings were eating berries behind the meadows at the community gardens.  I nearly forgot the cold wind while I was enjoying watching them!

Cedar Waxwings

I really like this last photo because it shows a couple of the red tips on the wing for which the Cedar Waxwing was named.  The tips look like they were dipped in red candle wax.  They're not always visible.  I like this next photo because this little Cedar Waxwing is all puffed up to stay warm on a cold winter day.

Coming back up the path, I discovered a small patch of hoar frost that had not yet melted in the sunshine.  This little spot must have been protected, and the frost was just gorgeous.  I will admit to being lazy and not wanting to dig around in my camera bag and change to my macro lens.  It was COLD outside, and I would not have been able to do that with my gloves on.  I have to content myself with this photo.  Now that I am warm at home, I wish I would have gone to the extra trouble of using macro!

Next stop:  Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park

Red-Tailed Hawk

I stopped as I passed under the tree and snapped this photo between the branches as I looked up at him. Besides the hawk, I saw Dark-Eyed Juncos, Blue Jays and a Song Sparrow.  Birds were pretty quiet.

The ice along the edges of the river was my favorite part of this stop.  So many pretty shapes and designs...

I thought these looked like spades on playing cards.

Are you feeling cold yet?

On the way home, I stopped to take a closer look at the Rogerson Village historic district.  Between 1823-1827, Roger Rogerson built two cotton mills along the Mumford River in Uxbridge.  Later named the Crown and Eagle Mills (crown for his parent's homeland, England, and eagle for his adopted homeland, the U.S.)  The mills have been restored to their original beauty and are now used for senior housing.

These mills are considered an architectural masterpiece of an early New England industrial village.  The original mills are the two structures on the sides.  They were later connected by the brick structure across the river.