Tuesday, January 11, 2011

New Year - Day 10 - Housebound

 It was still snowing when I went to bed just before midnight last night, so I didn't know exactly how much would accumulate overnight. I took a ruler outside with me this morning and measured 5" on the flat.  Fine, powdery snow that, given any rise in the temperature, should be gone before too long.  However, a warming trend is not in the immediate forecast, so who knows when this pretty stuff will be gone, and unfortunately, it won't be pretty as it goes. 

I tried to get a couple of photos before I went tromping around the yard in my size 10 gumboots; I do admire the look of unbroken snow.  The photo is of the looks-like-a-mushroom-with-all-the-snow-on-top metal birdbath in the back yard which, except for some critter tracks, was unblemished.  My driveway had deep tire tracks in it and until I remembered that the paper delivery people come up the drive to (supposedly) throw my paper under the carport, I wondered who had been to visit after the snowfall, since the drive was pristine when I retired.

I awoke just before 8. Almost the first thing on my mind, even before coffee, if you can believe that, was that the bird feeders needed to be filled.

You can see from the photo on the right that this one was quite empty.  There are birdy tracks all around the edges of its roof; the birds were up and looking for breakfast long before I rolled out.


After clearing off the snow and emptying the tray of blown-in snow and seed hulls, I filled it to the brim, then made a trip to the smaller feeder further out in the yard. 


It wasn't long before I had a scarlet visitor (photo below right). He was soon joined by a host of Sparrows and a jumble of Juncos, those cute little 'snowbirds.' However, almost before they could get their fill, the Grackles arrived (photo below left). When they are in the neighborhood, I can't keep the feeders filled. Oh, well -- everything deserves to eat, and I did have more bird food.


The Grackles departed after depleting the seed supply, moving on to someone else's feeders, no doubt.  When I felt sure that the larger flock, at least, had moved on, I refilled both feeders, which were soon visited by my 'sweet birds.'

I will keep stocking and re-stocking the feeders several times a day until the snow is gone. When things are back to normal, whatever that may be, I'll only have to fill them once a day.

Needless to say, I did not venture any further than my back yard today.  I made a big pot of beefy vegetable soup, visited a few new blogs, ran a load of laundry and otherwise took it easy.

If there was wintery weather at your place today, I hope you were safe, warm, and dry.

That's it for this 10th day of January. Tomorrow is also a day.

10 comments:

Arkansas Patti said...

Aww, we didn't get near that amount but I am grateful for our inch and a half.
Try putting just a small amount of food out first thing for the birds. Then the Grackles will move on with out eating a whole feeder full.
Even with only small birds, I am filling 4 feeders twice a day. Fifty pounds of sunflower seeds is not making it a week. I may have to get a job to feed the birds.
They are worth it though.

Snap said...

I was thinking about you the last couple of days as I watched the weather report. No snow here, but it is cold (for us). Snow is pretty -- calm and peaceful -- before it gets trampled and *dirty* ... and as long as I don't have get out in it and DRIVE! :D :D :D

Hugs--

Hilary said...

Not a bad way to spend a snowy day. Especially for your bird population.

rhymeswithplague said...

We also have a metal birdbath (actually a two-tier fountain) and that photo could have been taken in our backyard, down to the amount of snow on the birdbath.

At our last place I had three bird feeders and really enjoyed watching our feathered friends, but I never put them out where we now live.

Mrs. RWP even made "beefy vegetable soup" Sunday night too! Hers was Southwestern Soup out of Southern Living magazine (from several years back). We have enough for five meals for the two of us.

Our white stuff is staying around for several days, they tell us. Temp not above freezing yet, and will dive to the teens for the next couple of nights. It's pretty to look at, but not much is getting done in the way of industry and commerce around here.

It's still much better than our three years in eastern Nebraska when we experienced 35 degrees BELOW zero and icicles eight feet long hanging from the roof...but not quite as good as our seven years in south Florida when we went swimming in the ocean on New Year's Day and the air temperature was 84 degrees Fahrenheit with oleanders blooming profusely in the highway medians.

We thought Atlanta would be a "happy medium" with four seasons and we were right.

Mimi Foxmorton said...

I would love to be goat snuzzled with a book and a fireplace right now.........
:)

Richard Lawry said...

I took my first snow day off from work in years. I could have made it to work, but realized that I would have no business.

An Arkies Musings

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Good Morning, Pat.. We woke up to another 1/2 inch here today.. George had cleaned the driveway yesterday --but will have to do it again today.

Love your pictures and your bird feeders. I need to fill ours again today also.

Stay inside and stay WARM today.
Hugs,
Betsy

George said...

I'm glad you were able to stay in on such a snowy day. We have pretty much the same situation here, although it is still snowing. Nothing is moving on our street. We're having to refill bird feeders more often in this weather as well.

Marvin said...

More snow down your way than there was up here in the hills. Tuesday's sunshine caused a little melting, but most of our 2" is still here.

Keeping the bird feeders filled can almost be a full time job this time of year, and we don't have any "city birds" like grackles.

Jackie said...

Beautiful photos of the pristine snow....
Unfortunately, living in deep south Georgia, I never see snow (unless I travel)..but I do enjoy your photos.
I am feeding my birds here in the south, too! We have a lot of migratory birds....leaving the northern areas...enjoying the warmth here...and we feed them as well as "our" birds.
Thank you for sharing these photos.
Smiles and hugs from Jackie