the week in wilds

 View this morning:

Today is going to be spent quietly, and every tiny task crossed off the list will be celebrated with a sense of accomplishment out of all proportion to the actual endeavor. It's been a challenging week, and I am not feeling my best. I intend to be as kind to myself as I would be to someone else. It's an experiment.

Meanwhile, here are a few images of visitors to the Wildlife Area,

 taken over the past week:

A chickadee, the official Commonwealth Bird, 
about to fly off with a sunflower seed.

A bluebird(!) waiting for a turn at the water basin or a feeder.

Two mourning doves resting in the young maple.

And three varieties of woodpecker!

"Hairy Woodpecker"

"Downy Woodpecker"

"Red-bellied Woodpecker" 

The lack of imagination - and observational skill - and relevance! - involved in the "common naming" of woodpeckers has always baffled me. I am sure we can do better.

Let's think about it, shall we?

And finally, although it IS snowing at the moment and has BEEN snowing for many hours, it has NOT snowed every day this past week. So here is one character who lacks neither observational skills nor imagination:

grey squirrel

I'm so glad the red squirrels and grey squirrels seem to have reached an agreement to coexist here in peace. I have even watched one grey squirrel and one red squirrel play together, and I watched them for quite a while before feeling convinced that's what they were doing. Made me very happy.

I hope you're weekend is shaping nicely!

~~~~~

sunny sunday

In recent weeks, there have been woodpeckers visiting my suet feeder every day,

even while snow is falling.

Downy woodpeckers and hairy woodpeckers.

Unlike some birds, they never seem to squabble, but nicely take turns.

Males and females of both varieties visit.

I wonder if there will be nests nearby, and perhaps baby birds this year?

This morning, there was also a rare visit from four mourning doves.

They searched the snow under the seed feeder, but I don't know if they found much before flying high into a tree.

I would have liked to toss sunflower seed onto the ground for them, but opening a window would have scared them away, possibly for a long time.

Even from forty feet away and high in a tree, this one seems to be keeping a close eye on me as I take pictures from inside the porch. 

I'll toss some seed on the snow after evening chores tonight, and hope it isn't all eaten up by mice before morning. Maybe the doves will be back tomorrow.

It is a gorgeous day. Not snowing - really, not snowing - and the sky is blue with fluffy clouds. Unlike recent days, the the temperature has slowly climbed above freezing and it's not windy. It's quite pleasant and a bit melty out there.

So why am I indoors in the middle of the day? you might ask.

It has a lot to do with the two cats currently anchoring my legs,

but it probably has even more to do with me feeling lazy and slow.

Of course I have a long list of things to do apart from daily chores, including many little things that weren't done because of all the recent snowy days. But instead of trying to get a lot done, I just feeling like staying put. At least for a little while.

I hope you are having a pleasant day wherever you are,

 whether you are full of energy and embracing the day with gusto,

or whether you are having a cozy recharge like me.

~~~~~

murky monday

Mourning Dove

It rained yesterday.

It's raining today.

Nuthatch

The forecast is rain for the next six days.

SIX.

Days.

Chipping Sparrow

So to keep our spirits up, here are a few snaps taken way back when the sky was not grey and the air was not clammy and raw.

About two days ago. 

Goldfinches

Thank you for helping me with "what shall I draw?"

I really appreciate it! This "poll" gadget is new to me, and last night I discovered that correcting a typo in 

my original post somehow broke the buttons on the poll. Oops. I quickly rebuilt it and posted the replacement. Fortunately I had looked at the poll results just before fixing the typo, so I jotted down those numbers to add to later counts.

Last night, tree was well ahead of the other choices, followed by leaf. But tonight bird has sailed to the front! So exciting! I was beginning to feel a little sorry for stone and landscape and boat, but now they each have one vote. And after reading Maywyn's intriguing comment, I googled and learned the trick of figure-eights and boats. Who knew?

This little poll is turning out to be fun, which is especially welcome on such a gloomy day. I'm going to leave it up til tomorrow then add the numbers and get out my sketchbook.

Thanks again!

Meanwhile, here's one more cheery bird:

Purple Pomegranate Finch

Thanks :)
~~~~~