Of Birch Trees and Magpies

While several of our previous posts have described Karaganda as a rather drab, midsize city, there is beauty here, as well. Within a short walk of our apartment is a huge park with walking paths (used for sleigh rides as seen in our "weather" post). At the center of the park is a good sized lagoon used as a public ice skating rink in winter. However, among John's personal favorites are the abundant birch trees and large "matching" magpie birds. I had vaguely heard of this species, but had never seen one. They are similar in size to a midwestern raven, but with an extra long tail feather. With black and white bodies, they are a perfect match for the white barked birch trees they inhabit. Finally, the more impressive handicrafts we've seen include beautiful birch bark boxes.

Photographers' Disclosure: While we can take credit for photographing the birches, we were unsuccessful in our endeavor to capture a magpie. While running through the snowy woods, heads tilted up to the sky, whipping out our camera in sub-zero temps., onlookers must have thought we were a bit odd--tourists, no doubt. Alas, the magpie pictures were taken from the internet.