Eyes open

When it's one of these types of days - beautiful, bright, sunny Michigan winter days - I can't help but notice how the backyard looks like a perfectly frosted cupcake. And the old apple tree has yet to part with the last of it's apples from last fall. I truly thought every last one of them had finally dropped with the heavy snow, winds and ice, but an industrious blue jay brought my attention to one or two which still remain on the far side of the tree.

And then I began to realize I haven't seen much of the jays most of the early part of the winter...usually we see them all winter long. In fact, many of the birds who normally litter the flowerbed, back patio and trees throughout the snowy months have been sparse this year. Usually the tree is freckled with either the beautiful flitting blue flashes of jays in motion, or the gorgeous red of cardinals. Interspersed we will see English sparrows, juncos and an occasional crow. Once in a while we pitch birdseed onto the patio so the cats can watch the birds, and we can watch the cats. The excitement the cats experience being within inches of the twittering and hopping of their quarry, and their eagerness to see the birds without being seen is a lot of fun to watch. The added bonus of hearing the girls squeak and chitter while watching the birds has been a riot some mornings.

I can't help but wonder if the weather has simply gotten much too cold for even the hardiest of winter's acclimated fauna.

I've been looking to buy a small water heating element to plug in out back and place in some sort of container to water the birds over the winter months. The only drawback is the current required to keep it on all day. But we know that birds require water as well as food - probably more so throughout these frozen months, and placing fresh water outside several times a day is not as simple a task as we would have thought initially.

Gotta love Mother Nature, there's a lot to enjoy if you just keep your eyes open.