Buds and Birds

Today has been gloriously sunny and warm! It's hard to believe that exactly one week ago we were trapped indoors after an ice storm. Today's high was 80F, with blue skies and warm breezes. Spring seems to be on it's way!

With the lengthening days, we've begun to notice the birds outside are thinking about nesting. The house sparrows are already adding straw and grass to the old bird house, and the feeder activity is picking up. Our neighborhood has several pairs of bluebirds, and several of them visit our suet feeders throughout the day. They are such beautiful birds! I would love to put up nesting boxes for them in our back yard, but a huge flock of house sparrows live there and would quickly take over. Feeding the adult bluebirds is the next best thing, though. We've also seen lots of woodpeckers, mourning doves, robins, and Carolina wrens. And the squirrels are already raising this year's first babies. A friend of my husband's rescued a nest of infant squirrels whose nest had blown down in last week's ice storm. Apparently the friend has a female Chihuahua that has taken on the role of mother to the babies. He said the pictures of them curled up together were just adorable!

There are other signs of spring, too. The trees that flower earliest are beginning to bud. Just this week I've noticed buds popping out on the ornamental pears, the tulip magnolias, and the redbud trees. And on my way to the grocery store today I saw my first daffodils of the year in a neighbor's yard. What a great time of year!