Birds and Rain and ...

The leftovers are packed along with the last of the luggage and stowed away in the car; the last goodbyes are said. The washing machine; dryer and dishwasher are working away. And I am alone… I don’t quite know whether to click my heels together whooping and hollering or to curl up in a chair with a cup of tea, a heating pad, a good book and let my body and soul rest while they try to catch up with each other.

A lot of snow melted during the afternoon and night; and the trees are nearly bare but there is a covering of snow still on the ground. Ice and rain are scheduled to begin falling before late afternoon. During the night snow is predicted to fall; something between one and six inches, depending on which prediction I read. I don’t mind the snow at all but I hate having the power go out. I found all the flashlights and candles and set them out where I can reach them easily; filled some kettles with water and now that I am prepared hope the preparations and incantations were enough that there will be no power failure.

My bird friends continue to add variety to my day. Just after first light crows flew in and stopped just long enough to call out their morning greetings before heading on down to the river.
A chickadee landed on my roof this morning… when he took off, he dislodged a small bit of snow that began rolling down the slope of the roof, as it rolled it picked up more snow. By the time it came to rest just below my skylight it had grown to a very nice sized snowball.

Pileated woodpeckers are working on the large stump as well as a couple of other trees at the edge of the clearing. I watched them for quite awhile before I thought to get my camera and try again to get some pictures. This is another day when the birds provide wonderful entertainment. At least six blue jays were at the feeders out in the yard at one time and a couple up on the deck. I put some extra cracked corn and mixed grain under the big feeder in the yard and was surprised to find that birds I thought preferred sunflower seeds seem to like a bit more variety in their diets just as I do. Well, I did get a chance to spend some time in my comfortable recliner with my feet up and listened to an audio book, “The Widow of the South” by Robert Hicks. Just got a good start so I will be ready to listen to more later.

The promised sleet is falling. Trees are covered with white again – this time it is ice, not snow.