Wren chick

We finally have the proper tool hangers for a respectable Baronial Toy Shed so while the Baron sanded and hung the pegs, I rearranged dust and pots. In doing so I disturbed 2 wren chicks. The nest was in a brass mug on the window sill. I'd seen Mom fly out under the door as we came in but didn't think anything of it until I heard peeps from close by. They are feathered and can fly fairly well so I guess they'll be OK if the crows that hang out by our bait/game camera don't get them. They certainly didn't want our help.

We found another asparagus poking through the compost. I think we are up to 31. with the rain today and the heat tomorrow, We'll probably find a few more. Most of them are nicely feathery. I think these are all male; they seem to have flower buds. I guess I'll have to use a scope to see the flower parts a la Eric Berkhardt.

Easter Saturday

What is this?

What a difference 24 hours makes! 5-6" last night hardly make it look like Easter weekend. A fox sparrow and a white throated sparrow joined us for breakfast and the usual murder of crows did also. We even had a flock of 30 or so robins hang out for a few minutes in our tree tops. Finding worms today was a hard task at 25 degrees early.

Snow

The first snow of the season has been a douzy. It's all about snow lovers on Valentine's Day. Early Tuesday morning central PA was dumped on and it's hardly let up for 36 hrs. I think the Barony has about 12" of heavy but dry white stuff. I plowed 5" at 4pm yesterday and another 5" at 10pm. I can see the ridges at the sides of my path, but the drive is totally white again. I went out to fill the feeders at 10am then tried out the Christmas snowshoes. They are great. My feet don't get as cold since they don't sink in. I used my walking sticks to hike into the meadow to see if Beaver Rd or Murch's cul de sac was cleared. Couldn't tell. The deer were here early this morning, covered in snow. If it hadn't been for the 4 silhouette on the white background I would have missed them. I wonder if they know they are more visible in the snow? Who needs Tivo when I have these windows? Snow Crystals and Snowflake Bentley offer great insight into snowflakes.