Tuesday’s News......

I saw for the first time a goldfinch on the deck floor, picking up pieces of millet. I looked back later and could see a pair of them on the thistle seed feeder.

After some research on the net,  I am certain that the male is at the top of the sock and the female is at the bottom. The female tends to have a brown greenish set of feathers on its back year round. I did see that some goldfinch migrate back to the northern colder states but some also drop down a state or two to the south.  Some never migrate but I don’t know where they go all winter.

My earlier memories of goldfinches were when I was a kid on the farm.  We had 240 acres of land but only just over half of it was farmable.  The rest was timber and some virgin prairie. The soil was mostly clay with a lot of rocks and farmers just didn’t think it was worth clearing for agriculture.  It was not land that you would even graze cattle on, as there just wasn’t that much vegetation.  There were swath areas though where the large thistles grew and wild plants that put out seed for the goldfinch.  When we would travel near the area one could see the birds flying back and forth landing on the stems of plants.  They would cause the plants to sway on them and the birds just road them up and down.  Meadow larks could be heard in the area in the spring.

Our first day of spring looks like this. The overcast gray seems to be what we will have most of the day. It will be warm but not a normal average temperature. The birds are out and moving around.  A lot of birds fly into the blue spruce and they must be feeding on something in there. I looked out and there was a robin hopping around pecking at the grass. The house finches were back this morning but not in large numbers.  It won’t be a big change to spring from what yesterday was like.

The robin is still waiting and watching for that special someone.  He continues to monitor the front and back yard.  He doesn’t really spook much when I take out Barney. He tends to move to another portion of the yard or flower bed area. I would think that the tree that his nest sits in should really have a few leaves on it before the female will be willing to sit there.

This is a bad shot of the cardinal but a better shot of the pussy willow tree. I don’t think there is anything in that bud that a bird would want to eat. The cardinal keeps darting in and out of the pine tree.

I have a lot of photos of this guy so I just as well share another one today.  He certainly is a red streak in the air as he flies by our windows. I have yet to see a female cardinal at this point.

Barney is so much better.  He will never be able to run up and down the sidewalks anymore but he can make a pace of six or seven steps and stop then go again.  Between his legs or hips going bad four or five days ago and his falling down the stairs on Saturday, I would not have dreamed that he would be doing so well. He still would prefer me to help pull him up from the floor. He likes that I can get the backend propelled forward by me pulling on his collar. I gave him a boost last night and he did spend the night on our bedroom floor. I took him out at about six and he is back to taking naps as normal. He is in his elder care home with a couple of older folks trying their best.

Both of us are fighting chest colds today.  I think they really are a part of the end of the viral thing we had weeks ago.  I know my wife never got her lungs cleared of that virus and mine flared up a couple of days ago.  It just feels like a cold and saps the energy.

I hope everyone has a good day today as we finally have made it to spring.  I wish everyone to be well.  Thanks for checking in today.