It’s a running joke. The first mention of the slightest possibility of a snow flurry and people raid the grocery store shelves. There won’t be a loaf of bread or a jug of milk within twenty minutes of the prediction.
I am not laughing anymore. This must be our animal intuition.
Early yesterday morning my husband took extra hay and grain to the horses and filled the bird feeder. Snow had been predicted, coming in mid-to-late afternoon. He said one of our horses actually rolled in the grain.
And the squirrels jumped out of the tree limbs and assaulted the fresh supply of seeds.
Squirrels filling their tanks.
It wasn’t long before the birds began to flock to it as well.
I watched as they bounced off and on, grabbing a bite before flying off to make room for another to swoop in. Then the snow began. Large flakes blew in sideways. It covered me as I sat with the door open, camera pointed at the feeder. A gorgeous cardinal had been popping on the backside of the feeder and since I couldn’t walk around the house, I had to just wait for him to position himself front and center.
Is there anything lovelier than a cardinal in the snow?
His significant other waited patiently on him in the branches of the crepe myrtle.
Striking, isn’t she?
Then she took a turn along with others.
I suppose you can tell by the pictures that we love our birds. They are well-fed and my son asked me if they were all pregnant since their bellies looked so big. I’m just glad to serve the role of food supplier to the wild kingdom.
Our doves mostly migrated a mile up the road where my son and husband planted a couple of corn fields. One didn’t produce enough to combine so he left it until recently and bush-hogged the entire field, leaving it for the deer, doves, and turkeys. They were practically following the tractor to get food, which made us feel good about our decision to just let it go and take the loss – (we didn’t have crop insurance, yikes!) There isn’t much in the forest for them to eat this time of year, and with the snow we’ve had – (it’s still snowing!) – I’m happy they’ve had a good source of food for the days building up to this wintery event.
You all know the other critter enjoying the snow – Miss Gretel.
Stay warm and well-fed throughout this blizzard! I’ll post more pictures when it stops snowing. Maybe I can talk hubby into taking the camera to the horse pasture and snapping a few of them running and playing. He’s stranded at the farm right now. Drifts have covered the road and the snow plows haven’t made it up the mountain yet.
So how is it where you are? Getting any snow or is it sunny and seventy?
