Sunday, December 13, 2009

It's Really Cold!


20 degrees and though I'm dressed for it, I know I'm not going to last too long out here.

I heard chickadees as I entered the lower gardens and spot this mockingbird and a flock of very puffed up goldfinches. I feel so bad for them. It must have been a nasty night. It's amazing to me how these tiny little creatures survive this kind of cold - and of course it will get colder yet.... They certainly have a lot of fortitude. And there's a song sparrow fat as can be making little peeping noises as well as an American tree sparrow flitting about. I know where I'd be if I was a bird in this cold - inside one of the bird houses scattered around or inside a cavity in a tree!

The deer have been here as I can see the cloven hoof prints in the snow( pictured above). I'm still hoping to catch a glimpse of them. Upper gardens pretty quiet.  Winter is definitely making its presence known. A downy woodpecker, a nuthatch and a noisy blue jay are the only other birds I see as I wind my way down to the river and back through the Woodcock meadow.

The pond is lightly frozen over and the river is starting to freeze near its banks. One day last year, I went down to the river and saw a large frozen carp staring at me through the ice. Very creepy. Hope all the fish are safely buried in the muck of the river.

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