Bedraggled beauty -

Eastern bluebirds

Northern cardinal

House finch

Pine Warbler

Carolina wren

I don't want to bore you with another litany of facts about my garden birds, 

other than their names. However, I do want to share a few more photos

 taken this week on the very wet days. Many birds flocked to the front

 porch to shelter from the cold, often heavy rain. . . . . . and to enjoy some

 seeds and crumbs we scattered in dry spots away from the dripping wet

 feeders out in the garden. 

Good weekend wishes ~ stay safe ~ be well.

All it takes is a dusting. . . .

. . . . . also the robins

. . . . . the Eastern bluebirds

. . . . . the Northern cardinals

. . . . . the Northern flickers

. . . . . the Pine warbler

. . . . .the House finches

. . . . .the Eastern towhee

. . . . .the Brown-headed cowbird

. . . . .the Pine siskin

. . . . . the Dark-eyed junco

************

The junco - known fondly as 'the snow bird' - arrived along with a snow

 fall during the night.  Looking out the window at 3:30 am it was

beautiful. Huge flakes of fluffy snow were illuminated under the street

lights, bare branches were outlined in white in the moonlight, and a white

 carpet had been rolled across the lawn.

 At 6:30 am I was out of bed and waiting for dawn with a steaming mug

 of coffee and a camera at the ready.  Knowing it was just a very light 

snow fall and would probably be gone quickly when the sun came up,

it might well have been the only time this winter season that I would have

a chance to photograph our garden birds in snow.

So I was ready - hope you enjoy seeing just some of the garden birds

when they visited, and sure enough the snow was almost gone by noon.

Postcards from the sunny south!

Yesterday, a beautiful Saturday here. . . . . . . the snow and ice melted where
 the sun hit, and the afternoon temperature reached 53F.  
Our back deck is in shade so we have to step carefully out there, it will take
 a couple more days to melt the ice which formed Friday night when it was really cold. 
 Rain is predicted for Monday so that will help.

Who said red birds clash with purplish pink flowers?  

Hey, when it comes to the garden you embrace all the color you can get, 

especially in the dull, often dreary, winter months.

Winter hydrangeas will be deadheaded and pruned later.

Here you can see we did get a couple of inches of wet snow - one of our many

garden visitors under the bird feeders digging for dropped seeds.

I think this is the only snow we'll see in the south this winter.

BUT, never say never!

New floor was installed as planned on Friday morning - all went well and I love it.

Photos coming soon.

Birds - Blooms - Books . . . . . .

Mourning Dove 

 Pine Siskin and Red-bellied Woodpecker 

White-Throated Sparrow

Many of these and other birds are visiting the garden now - the warm days have

 brought the songbirds out despite true spring still being far off. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . and my daffodils are blooming far too early.

One of my favorite reading corners - upstairs bedroom in good afternoon light.

Are you reading these late winter days?

My pile awaits as I plod somewhat through the amazing writing of Richard Powers

'The Overstory' - Winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. 

A very special novel. If you love trees and are concerned about the future

 of our forests, and the planet, you should read it.  

Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. 

There is always something to make you wonder in the shape

 of a tree, the trembling of a leaf. 

~ Albert Schweitzer ~