I was sitting here thinking about the weather. At this time, two years ago, we had already had snow almost every day. The only snow we’ve gotten this year was a good “dusting” of it the night before last. Looking out the main window onto the Verandah I noticed the bird feeders, barely swaying and half full. This brought to mind another comparison thought: Where were all of the birds we’re use to seeing at this time of the season?

I walked out to take a look for any signs of recent visits but found none, then noticed what might be an issue. The seeds seemed to be “lodged” in areas. Where dampness had become frozen, clumping the seeds together so that even after thawing, they were still stuck together just over the openings where they couldn’t be reached, and the loose seeds could not drop down. I gave them all a good shake, dumped the seed into the compost and then refilled with fresh bird seed, then hung them back up again.

That was about 2 hours ago, and already the front of my house is alive again with bright red Cardinals, their less than vivid partners, and various other types that are known for our area this time of year. It was already getting dark, but tomorrow I will snap a few shots of them and upload to this post.