BIRDS IN THE SNOW ~~ WALK AT KISSEL PARK ~~ PUZZLE UPDATE ~~ PARTING SHOT

BIRDS IN THE SNOW

Since we had a few inches of snow on the ground, I took the opportunity this past week to get some pictures of the birds around our feeders. I threw out a suet cake in the back yard under that feeder, and before long the sparrows swarmed all over it. The Scrub Jay perched on the little fence first, checking out the scene before descending upon the ground.

You talking to me?

The Scrub Jays have been regular visitors underneath the feeder. They are too big to land on the feeder itself, so they forage around below it, picking up bits of seeds and corn. It surprised me how many seeds and pieces of cracked corn those guys could gobble up, as evidenced by this video below.

I got to wondering how the birds manage to eat something as hard as cracked corn, so I looked it up. The article I read said that all birds have a gizzard, which is an organ that is used to grind up hard food items like seeds and nuts. If you have ever examined the contents of a "giblets bag" from inside a whole chicken, then you have most likely seen a gizzard. In birds that eat food that is easily digestible (like soft insects and soft fruit or nectar), the gizzard is most likely very small and is not used. Other birds, such as our friend the Scrub Jay, need one to grind up the nuts or seeds so that they can digest it (click link here to read more). Another organ that aids a bird in their digestion is the crop, which is where they store food to eat later. Not all birds have a crop, but it seems that most of them do (click link here to read more). It is pretty obvious that the Scrub Jay has a crop because in the video above he is just packing it in with corn for eating later. Birds are such fascinating creatures and I just love reading about them and learning something new.

This winter we have had a couple of visits from Mourning Doves, one of my favorite bird species. We do not see them here at our house very often because we have such a large population of the Eurasian Collared Dove around our neighborhood. We saw them a few weeks ago in with a group of California Quail. This week I saw a couple out in the front yard by themselves. They are such a sweet bird, so quiet and gentle. I love it when they fluff out their feathers to keep warm.

Second picture shows Dove with
feathers fluffed out

One of the doves, I think it was the female, was just sitting in the snow looking all warm despite the cold. The other dove was foraging around and picking up seeds. I wish they would visit more often, but at least I am glad that they have come to see us a couple of times so far this winter. The Mourning Dove was a daily visitor to our yard back in Lumberton, and in the springtime we always had baby doves in the fenced-in back yard. It was a safe haven for birds and squirrels because we didn't have an outside cat at that time.


WALK AT KISSEL PARK

When we took our walks down to Kissel Park it was somewhat early in the morning. We would usually start suiting up around 9:15, so we were probably out the door by 9:30.  The temperature was hovering around 32 degrees, so it wasn't too cold. We still wore our snow pants because if there is a breeze of any kind, it can be frigid. Since there was melted snow on the road which had frozen overnight, I wore my YakTrax (link to website here), which are like snow chains for shoes. Funny though, these things are sold by a company based in Durham, North Carolina! They really do help in the snow and ice. I put them on a pair of boots and we keep them by the front door, to use whenever we go out if the sidewalk is icy.

These boots are made for walkin'...
in the snow

The park is always so beautiful in the snow. I love it when the weather is clear and you can see the hills behind it. The contrast of the white snow and the colorful playground equipment makes for a nice photograph.

Kissel Park

Linda, looking like an Eskimo

Clearing the pathway

Arty Photos

By the time we got back to the house, we were unzipping our coats and taking off our hats. Walking in the snow seems to warm you up really fast! I decided to take a picture of our house, and I found a picture that I took in 2012, almost exactly 8 years ago. I believe this was our first really big snow since moving here. Our front yard has changed quite a bit since then.

January 22, 2020

January 23, 2012

Yucca Plant in the front yard

PUZZLE UPDATE

With the weather being like it has been, I have found myself working on the puzzle more and more. We just finished another puzzle last weekend, and I really liked this one. It's a puzzle that Emily brought us last summer. At Starbucks corporate office, where she works, a group of employees have a puzzle set up so that anyone can work on it when they are taking a break. When the puzzle is completed, they give them away. So Emily brought us a few and we have really enjoyed them. This one was not nearly as hard as the Colin Thompson Christmas Cupboard puzzle. This one is titled Vintage Games, and if you are of a certain age when board games were played (instead of video games), then I am sure you would recognize a lot of these.

"Vintage Games" puzzle

PARTING SHOT

I caught Summer Girl in a rare moment off of the bed this morning. She visited me in the office (AKA puzzle room) and posed nicely for a photo-op. She has been behaving herself lately, so I'm not sure if she thinks Santa is going to come visit her again soon and bring her another catnip slug. You have almost a year to wait, little one!

She was in a good mood

That's all for this week, my friends. Join me again next week for more from the Southerner in the Northwest!