I ♥ Faces - Birthday and More

This week, the contest at I ♥ Faces involves birthday photos. Well, since my photos are arranged by date on my hard drive, finding the birthday pics was easy.

Ethan turned five this year which, in our family, means a party with friends. He wanted to go bowling, so I contacted our local bowling alley. They were wonderful to us. We had two lanes reserved and when they saw how many parents were staying, the manager gave us another lane to use. We had the back corner all to ourselves complete with table, chairs and decorations. Throw in a couple of pizzas and cupcakes shaped like bowling pins and bowling balls, and you've got yourself a party! (Because of the contest rules, I can only post one photo for each category. So click here if you want to see a pic of the cupcakes.)



I ♥ Faces is also featuring a pet category this week. The good news for me is that the animal doesn't actually have to be a pet. We have pets, but the fish just don't really interest me and I have a hard time photographing our black cat. She's so dark that her features don't show up well, and she's very curious about the camera which means I end up with lots of photos of her nose and eyes--up close. ☺ Funny, but not great photo contest material. Our backyard birds provide me endless photo opportunities, so the challenge for me is choosing which photo of them to enter.



I decided on this photo of the red-bellied woodpecker. He's a good hard-working father whose family is nesting somewhere in the woods next to our creek. Each day he comes countless times to grab a quick bite for himself then fill his beak with suet or seeds to share with his mate and family. It doesn't even bother him to come in the rain as he did here yesterday.

I love his markings, don't you? The female is similar, but her red patch does not extend down the back of her neck like the male's does. I am always drawn to his brown eyes. So many birds have black eyes which seem expressionless to me at times. When I watch this woodpecker, I find myself looking in his eyes trying to guess his thoughts. He's watching me, as well. Does he wonder what I'm thinking?

Well, those are the entries for this week. Would you like to enter, too? There's still a few hours to participate in this week's contest. Check it out at
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