Red-tailed Hawk ...

... on the hunt. 

We had a busy afternoon today starting with a walk at Plainfield Rail Trail. Then it was onto Nazareth to check out the Christmas Putz in the Gray Cottage.

I had recently read about the Gray Cottage being open and a Moravian Putz was on display there.  But when I looked it up I saw that it was yesterday!  Doh!  But on the way home from our walk we decided to stop by anyway to see if it was open ... and it was!!

We had never been in the Gray Cottage before as it's always been a private residence.   It is the oldest American Moravian building still standing. The log house was built in October 1740 by the Moravians to shelter themselves during the winter.  I've added a collage of pictures I took of both the Moravian Putz and some scale model homes that were created by a man named Bob ... I don't remember the last name! Most of these buildings depicted here are in the Bethlehem and Nazareth areas and are of historic significance.  

Now you may be wondering what a Moravian Putz is.  A Putz is a traditional Moravian decoration used around Christmas time. The word comes from the German term, which means  “to decorate” or “to embellish.” These miniature replicas depict various settings of the Nativity story through the use of ornate, hand-crafted figurines. Each set may feature animals, buildings, and amazing details to recreate the holiest of scenes.

As we were leaving Gray Cottage I saw this magnificent Red-tailed hawk in a nearby tree.  He sat there long enough for me to get a few decent shots ... although there are too many branches in the picture for my liking. 

Backblipped: December 15, 2021 ... trying to catch up.