I am excited to announce that this year's calendar will honor Maine Backyard Birds! The calendar is at the printers and will be ready in a week or two. You can view screenshots of the monthly bird photos in the slideshow below.

I wasn't able to include all the feathered friends that frequent my backyard through the year, but I did my best to choose birds that are both familiar and well-loved. Okay. So blue jays aren't exactly well-loved by everyone, but they are striking birds in their own right and just couldn't be left out of a calendar of Backyard Birds in Maine.

Choosing which birds to feature wasn't my most challenging chore.

With the increase in printing and shipping costs, settling on a price point that was both affordable for you and workable for me turned out to be the most unnerving for me as my costs can change quickly without notice.

That's why I am encouraging you to order your calendar now.

No, but ordering now guarantees you will get a calendar. I am a small business and make my best guess how many calendars I will need. (It isn't like leftover calendars can be used for anything else or sold at a later date.) Knowing you definitely want a calendar helps me with ordering.

Your calendar will be shipped as soon as I receive my shipment, in one to two weeks (depending on the speed of shipping).

Yes. If you order online and pay the shipping and handling costs, I will reimburse those fees if you decide to pick up your order. I do not have the capability of designating 'pick up' orders via PayPal. You must pay the shipping fee when ordering.

I'm not sure if I love the little chickadee because it was my mother's favorite bird or if I love it for its own merits. I can say that watching this tiny bird visit the feeder in the morning while I enjoy a steamy cup of coffee is often the highlight of my day.

I am pleased to announce that you can now order a 2021 calendar from Through My Lens!

Each photo is a full page with no background color around the photo.

​         Price: $22.99                                         FREE Shipping*

*Free shipping to Continental U.S. only. For shipping to other locations, please contact me to discuss your shipping options.

Today's image is an artistic rendition of a common grackle seen outside my window. This beautiful bird gets a bad reputation for its less than melodic call and its aggressive behavior at bird feeders. At a distance, it appears black or dark brown with a purple head, but it really is quite striking when viewed up close. The iridescent feathers on males range from green and blue to purple, but can only be observed when they are in the light. Females lack the showy colors and are typically black or brown with a purple neck and head.

These noisy birds often flock to feeders in the spring and can be seen flocking in trees, generally early in the morning. Although they are not a song bird and don't typically sing a soothing song, they reportedly have the ability to mimic the calls of other birds.

When grackles descend on your feeders or take up residence in nearby trees, rest assured that spring is in the air.

Just sharing a little Christmas love. May your day be filled with beauty and the magic of the season.

You are cordially invited to explore the world within the glass. The only limits are your imagination and your willingness to believe in magic.

This hairy woodpecker is one of the few birds visiting my feeders this winter. I typically have hoards of birds devouring the food faster than I can keep up, but late this summer they all seemed to disappear. I thought it was because of abundant nuts and berries in the wild, but I a beginning to rethink that theory.

I have a pair of hairy woodpeckers, at least one male downy woodpecker, a couple of blue jays and an occasional chickadee visiting the feeders regularly. Other than that nothing seems to be interested in visiting.

I hope it changes soon as I really miss my feathered friends.

Today's photo is a male ruby throated hummingbird fluffing up his feathers while preening to clean and straighten his feathers. He does this to remove dust, debris and parasites and to keep all the feathers pointing in the right direction. This makes him more aerodynamic and makes flying easier.

Sometimes birds fluff up their feathers to keep warm. Fluffing the feathers traps air between the layers of feathers insulating their body from the cold.

This photo been digitally edited for an illustration in a storybook.

There is something about the first snow of the year that brings a little excitement to an otherwise boring fall. It isn't like we are ready for full-blown winter, yet — but blanketing a browning landscape with white is always an uplifting moment for me.

These photos are from my front deck on November 8, 2019.  While the snow on the trees has melted, we still have a light coating on the lawn. The weather forecast promises another inch or two of snow on Monday and Tuesday, which means we may have started the official winter season here in Maine. I don't expect much snow until well into December, but it is possible the snow is here to stay until spring.

It's that time of year again when Maine is set ablaze with color as fall foliage dominates the landscape and becomes the focal point of photos. 

A loon appears to enjoy the view.

Water reflections double the beauty of fall foliage.

Sometimes it is difficult to tell where the trees end and the water begins.

Purple asters add color to the landscape and provide food for hungry bees.