Monday, February 18, 2008

morning at the feeder


you may want to mute the audio, unless you like hearing the TV in the background and an occasional exclamation from Mr. Attitude.

The wind is howling out of the northwest this morning, adding an extra bite to the frigid air. As I sipped my morning coffee, the bird feeder and the ground below, where I had scattered extra sunflower seeds, were a constant hub of activity. Pine grosbeaks, redpolls and goldfinches would descend one by one from the branches of the dead spruce (the "tree of life", as I like to call it) to the feeder or the ground, then some unseen cue would send them all flying back up, then once again the birds descended. While the finches engaged in this dance, the chickadees flitted to and from the feeder, each independent of all the others.

I am enjoying a quiet morning at home. The Hermit took Mr. Attitude to Wal Mart, and Calvin and Starflower are at friends' houses until about noon. So I'll sip some peppermint tea and play some banjo, or maybe get the guitar out and sing. I have laundry to fold, but that can wait. :)

Mr. Attitude found one of our turtles, which had disappeared from the aquarium, alive and crawling on the floor this morning! We put it back with the other turtle and The Hermit has a cat-proof aquarium cover on his shopping list.

UPDATE- When I was driving to pick up Starflower, I saw a bald eagle AND a rough legged hawk flying above my car at the same time! Is that a blessing or what?

7 comments:

thepowerguides said...

nice to see somebody else with snow snow and more snow but the birds do appreciate us keeping them fed and in return give us the pleasure of watching them

steve
wisconsin

Heidi said...

Oh, you have so many birds! Thanks for sharing the video!

When y'all go to Walmart, do you head north or south? I go north, since that's where Loren works, but it seems we're smack dab between the two.

Anonymous said...

Now I know where all of the birds are that aren't coming to my feeder anymore.

Deb said...

Steve- thanks for stopping by and commenting! We sure are getting the snow and cold lately.

Heidi- You're welcome.

We usually head north, just because it's a more scenic drive, and we also like L & M Fleet Supply. :) The Mexican restaurant downtown is really good too; Mexico Lindo I think is the name.

Deb said...

Pablo- I kind of doubt whether pine grosbeaks and redpolls would make it to Kansas City anyway. What, no tufted titmice and Carolina wrens?

RuthieJ said...

Wow Deb, that's a lot more birds than there was on Sunday! How neat to see them all flying around

I left my sound on to hear Mr. Attitude--he's quite a little character and it was fun to hear him again.

Deb said...

RuthieJ- Glad you enjoyed his commentary. I keep telling The Hermit, Mr. Attitude will be the class clown and the lead actor in the high school play. Well, and the valedictorian, of course. :)