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I should have uploaded this Happy New Year greeting a bit earlier today - some of you are already in the year 2013. I wish my family and each and every one of my "local" friends, my long-time overseas friends, and my Flickr friends a very happy, healthy and safe New Year! It's hard to believe, isn't it, that this many years have passed since all the fuss about the year 2000? Thank you all for your friendship and encouragement, and for letting me share my photos with you - SO much appreciated! I'm looking forward to another year of seeing where you have been and what beautiful things in nature you have discovered! Happy New Year, everyone!

This photo shows the fresh new start to the day on 28 December 2012, when three of us arrived at our starting place for the annual Cochrane Wildlife Reserve Christmas Bird Count. There always seems to be a beautiful sunrise when we start that Count.