Snow Day

Goldfinch

March roared in like a lion - literally! Local weather prognosticators were predicting a Winter Storm Warning Saturday evening into Sunday. Yeah, right...like we haven't heard THAT one before. Southerners are not used to winter storms so whenever the weather dudes say SNOW that means run to the store and stock up on toilet paper, milk and bread. Every. Time. Oh, and get a bottle of wine while you're at it, honey. Just in case.

Cardinal

Waking Sunday morning to several inches of pristine white snow covering everything, while large fluffy cotton balls continue to fall for hours ... well ... it was like Christmas in March. We can't drive on the stuff and sure can't walk on it and don't have the right clothing for it, but still... we slipped around and took photos and fed the birds and sat with warm cups of coffee at the windows just watching the show. And what a show it was. A snow show.

Mourning Dove

The birds appreciated the sunflower seeds and thistle and even the crappy cheap seed I had left over from something. A gazillion goldfinches swooped in to gorge themselves and would flit back into the trees when it came time to refill the feeders, looking like little yellow Christmas ornaments in the bare branches.

My northern friends understandably get sick of this stuff and I am positive I would, too, if I had to deal with as often as they. However, here in our neck of the woods the sun was out and the snow was gradually melting by mid-afternoon. There are still icy pockets hither and yon today as the temperatures remain in the 20's. We enjoyed our day of snow fall and bird feeding tremendously. It was the perfect day to just sit and be, read and meditate, or crunch around outside in the wrong shoes getting all wet and cold then coming inside for hot chocolate. It's the stuff that makes memories.

Mourning Dove

Mourning Doves are quite common, yet however common they are I'm still drawn to their mournful call which, to me, is soothing and comfortable. This time of the year they tend to congregate in canopies of bare trees, seemingly like ornaments dotted here and there. Doves are frequent visitors to our feeder and always drives Baylee crazy.

Cornell gives some cool facts about these birds. Seems during nest building the female stays at the nest and the male collects sticks, standing on her back to present the nesting material to her. She in turns take the material and weaves it into the nest. She normally lays 2 eggs and may have up to five or six clutches in a single year. The male usually incubates from midmorning until late afternoon and the female sits the rest of the day and night.

These beautiful birds are plentiful, being the most widespread and abundant game bird in North America. There are dove hunts here, of course, as in all part of North America yet the Mourning Dove remains among the 10 most abundant birds in the US. These birds remain close to my heart with their whistling wings and sudden bursts into flight, and their feathers are so beautiful.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Mourning_Dove.html