Migrant

Yesterday, we ventured out to North Park lake to catch some rare rays of sunshine. The lake was almost entirely frozen. Only near a dam there was an ice-free area where several Canada Geese congregated. One was even sitting on the ice as if it were breeding. Near the geese my husband spotted a duck-like bird. It swam around the ice-free water but did not come close enough to take a good photo of it. I did take some record shots because otherwise we are never able to identify strange birds once we get home. This one, with a white stripe and outline on its bill and a "bump" on its head, flubbergasted us. Only after we looked through several bird books did we identify it as a ring-necked duck. We learned that this duck only spends time here during migration. I guess this one got an early start on migration and took a breather at the lake.
On the backyard front, I wished that the bird count had been last Saturday because I spotted over a dozen cardinals near out feeders. The worse the weather, the more birds we get. However, a couple weeks ago I heard and then saw several red-winged blackbirds. Migration must be around the corner!

Backyard Bird Count

As a relief from the stresses of life, I decided to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. They couldn't have found a better day than last Saturday for the count: The weather was sunny and the snow-covered ground lured many birds to our four feeders. Here is a list of the birds we saw:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
2 Downy Woodpeckers
1 Hairy Woodpecker
6 Blue Jays
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Tufted Titmouse
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Caroline Wren
2 European Starlings
5 White-throated Sparrows
2 Dark-eyed Juncos
7 Northern Cardinals
1 House Finch
6 American Goldfinches
I did not look out the window constantly but once I watched as a Blue Jay picked up a sunflower seed from a feeder, flew to a tree and fed it to another Blue Jay. Love is in the air. Literally!
On the homefront, we are now a dog-less household again. Our house gueast, a very active Jack Russell Terrier, is gone. It was a very stressful time since she kept chasing our cats around. And she didn't smell too good either. If we ever had any desire to get a dog, we're cured now. Our two cats fit our lifestyle much better--and they come with their own wash and rinse cycle.

Adventures of Dog Sitting

Today is Valentine's Day, but we don't feel very romantic. The hair ball that our cat spat out this morning was pretty much the highlight of our week.
For reasons I cannot divulge here, we have become sudden and somewhat reluctant dog sitters. The dog is a high-strung Jack Russell Terrier named Brandi. This wouldn't be so bad if we were a no pet family. But we have two middle-aged cats who don't take too well to intruders, particularly the "in-your-face" kind. Brandi wants to be friendly and is met with hisses. The first week was particularly bad since the weather was windy and rainy and we learned that Brandi gets scared when it rains. We didn't get much sleep therefore--and then the phone rang at 2 o'clock Friday night. I would have paid real money for a good night's sleep.
Things have calmed down now and we let Brandi loose in the house more often. In fact, I think I've been adopted. She follows me everywhere. The best part is that she now sleeps through the night. This morning I caught her growling at our washing machine. I guess she has never seen a frontloader before. Oh well, this too shall pass.