Still Winter In The Mountains

I spent the last couple of days in the mountains where it was still Winter.  On a hike at Lake Alpine, my daughter and I got snowed and hailed on!  We quickly sheltered under some pine trees till the squall moved on up the lake!  The wind was bitter and we were thankful for our hats and gloves.  There were lots of small birds in the trees, all the juncos were fluffed up against the cold.  We saw a mountain chickadee, a first for us.  This lake is beautiful, no matter the weather.  

Back near the car we spotted this flower stalk emerging from the ground.  What a bizarre bloom!  It was the size of an artichoke or a small pineapple!   

Last time I was at the cabin a robin flew into one of the large windows.  Most of the windows have glazing bars but a couple of the bigger ones don't.  Thankfully the robin flew off after sitting on the deck, a little dazed, for a while.  When I got home I searched for something to hang in the window to help the birds see the glass.  I found this little stained glass chickadee in this Etsy shop based in Canada.  It looks really pretty hanging in the window, I love it!  There was no sun this weekend to shine through the colored glass but maybe next time there will be.