My part in the Great Backyard Bird Count

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual event for people all over the world to collect data on the birds they see.  I have participated for several years.  It has been the most fun when Caleb could help (and was interested in doing so).
So far today here are some of the birds I've seen:


hermit thrush



dark-eyed junco

 

 



female cardinal



brown thrasher



white-throated sparrow

I've also seen the eastern phoebe and a male cardinal.  This count is a great science project to do with kids who like to nature watch.

Titmouse

I see the titmouse has availed itself of the "water dish" as well.  Maybe I will have to put a bona fide water dish on the deck for the birds.  I have a concrete bird bath in the garden, but I do not leave it up in winter.

 

Nice sunset this evening.

Delight!

I'm always delighted to see a crocus or daffodil bloom in spring.  The area between the sidewalk and porch is terribly neglected and I had searched in vain to see any crocus foliage amongst the weeds.  I was afraid it had been choked out.  But the indomitable flower showed itself in grand fashion today.  I was delighted.

 

Also delightful in a neglected environment is the sight of a cardinal drinking water from an overturned outdoor thermometer on the deck.



 

The best hope

I recently looked up some scriptures that contain the word "hope" and thought I would share.

In the scripture, hope abides (1 Corinthians 13:13)
and is living (1 Peter 1:3).
Hope describes the assurance of our resurrection (Acts 24:15, Romans 8:23-25, Titus 3:7)!! The appearing of Christ is our blessed hope (Titus 2:13).
Hope is the result of the comfort given by scriptures (Romans 15:4).
Hope is from God and is produced in abundance by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).
Hope of glory results from Christ within us (Colossians 1:27 1 Timothy 1:1).
Hope is a sure anchor of the soul which allows us entrance "within the veil" where Christ went before us. (Hebrews 6:18-20).

Birds are looking toward spring, too

Just in the last week or so, I've heard the cardinals start singing to stake out their spring claims.  Today I heard a couple of chickadees.  I'm enjoying watching the birds from the window.

 

 

 

I am planning to prune out this limb, but I've notice the eastern phoebe makes a habit of perching there.

I usually see this hermit thrush closer to the back fence and wooded area, but I think it had to venture into the sunlight the day I took this picture to find a bug that wasn't too frozen to move.  I remember once when Caleb was a little fellow, he and I walked into the woods in back of the neighbor's house.  We found a hermit thrush in the woods, and the thrush moved about to inspect us from all sides.  Caleb was wearing a bright blue toboggan that covered his face, and I wondered if the thrush thought he was a strange bird.  The hermit thrush will make its way back north for the nesting season. 

Do you recognize this bird?  Its winter plumage is not as bright.  I believe it is a goldfinch.



 And I always enjoy catching sight of the bluebird.

 

 

Time to think about the garden

Today is Groundhog's Day and it's time to think about spring and the garden.  A week or so ago, my neighbor asked if I had planted any garden peas yet.  I have never had success with ones planted this early even though some charts say they can be planted in January in these parts.  I think you have to time them so that they get going between the coldest spells. 
In any case, it's time to make plans and buy seeds and just, in general, be inspired by all the possibilities.  I just finished re-reading a book that has once again inspired me.

In this book, Joan Dye Gussow discusses the food supply and how it relies so much on cheap energy (petroleum) for transport.  She discusses how farms and farmland are disappearing and what the ramifications are for producing food locally.  Her musings are interspersed with descriptions of her personal experiment of growing her own food and eating seasonally.  It's a very enjoyable book overall, even though it seemed to me she was overly obsessed with global warming.  The book has a 2001 copyright, and I don't even remember when I bought it.  I must have bought it on sale from a seed catalog.  In addition to a general index (which makes it possible to quickly find the parts in which she shares how she grew or stored particular crops), there is a recipe index.  I have tried some of her recipes and enjoyed her flavorful ideas for cooking the produce she grew.

While I'm in the planning and "being inspired" stage, I think other critters must be, too.  I saw this bad omen on my bathroom door yesterday! 

Yes, a stink bug!  Do you remember I picked more than 200 of them off the tomatoes last year?
So the battle lines are drawn, and without taking it for granted, I hope I will be in good gardening health come spring.



Advice if asked about your "sin state"

If your credit card fraud prevention service calls you and asks about your 4-digit sin state, take this advice from me so that you will not be thrown into outer darkness with an operator who speaks in an unknown tongue where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The number is not meant to be a scale from 1000 to 9999 about your sin state.
Just look on the front of your credit card where it says, for example, "MEMBER SINCE 2008" and punch in those four digits. "Member since [date]."