For The Birds

I am dog tired ya'll. This year is kicking my arse. I feel like no matter how hard I try, it just keeps getting harder. Days like today make me wish for a nice deep tub to soak in. Alas, we are not equipped with such a thing at our house, so I can only sit and dream of the steamy goodness.

My baby sweater has issues. I need to do some serious cosmetic work, or rip it all out and start over with a new pattern. In the meantime I've started a prayer shawl for my MIL. Her health isn't good, and she's going through a rough patch right now. Tonight I was working on it, and started dozing off mid-stitch. You know you're in trouble when your body just shuts down.

One thing I like to do, to steal just a bit of quiet and alone, is watch the birds that come to my feeders. Only one of them (the big'un) is filled during the winter..but we get all kinds of birds regardless. On Monday, while I was waiting to go out for my last shoveling venture, I stood looking out the window determining if it was indeed slowing down out there, when I got a real treat. A male and two female Evening Grosbeak's showed up to feast. I got out my nifty field guide the boy got me for Christmas, and was delighted to discover this bird in their. It's the first bird I've been able to accurately identify since, as most birds in the book are sporting their spring mating plumage. Turns out they are rather rare in the winter, so I was delighted that they spent a good half hour in my front yard. I admit to spending that same half hour at the window watching them. A Blue Jay came and scared them off, but only to a nearby tree where they played for a bit before continuing on their way. A nice treat on a snowy day.