Scattered Seed

We drove up along Cayuga Lake this morning, hoping to see more clearly what birds might be on the water. Last weekend we could hear them, but the fog was too heavy to see much.

We spotted a long thin line of white from a distance, and it seemed odd that ice would string from one side of the lake to the other in the mid-section. I pulled out the binoculars, and was surprised to find that it was hundreds of birds, but too far away to identify.

Further north, we spotted more, in an even larger group, and along the eastern shore.

We came upon a couple standing along the road with a scope, and they let me have a look. Snow geese! Too many to count.   They said they had never seen so many on the lake before.

We continued on up the road, hoping to find a snow goose among the Canada geese, so I could get a close up shot, but no.

We found beautiful mute swans instead…

In the past few days we have had rain, fog, clouds, sun, and heavy snow. March is such an unpredictable month.

I remember the winter storm of ‘93, March 13th to be exact, when I was stranded overnight at work. We marked the rising snow accumulation on the windows, every hour, with White-Out (how appropriate).    George got out the snow shoes and trudged a mile through the fields to bring me fresh clothes the following morning.  I had to work another half day until relief workers could make it in.

I haven’t heard of any storms in the forecast, thank goodness,  but the cold lingers on with temps expected around 15 degrees in the morning.

I’m on the lookout for any signs of spring,  and here is my assurance that it’s near…..

I played tug of war with my internal clock this morning. It certainly felt like the middle of the night when my alarm went off at 5:45. I allowed myself to stay in bed till six when I heard the garage door closing and George’s departure told me that I really needed to get up.

Laundry in, breakfast eaten, dishes washed, lunch packed, dressed for work, still dark outside. I was gathering up my things to leave the house when there was the first sign of daylight. No birds. Not one at the feeders.

The same tonight.

When I returned home at 5:30, there was not a single bird in the yard. Canada geese flew overhead, and that was my sighting for the day.

I’m not liking this time change. It took too long to get to where there was significant daylight (and birds) in the morning, and now we’re back to square one.

We headed to Auburn mid-morning, getting a little bit of a late start because I was trying out a new recipe for cookies to take to Dad and Evelyn’s for dessert.

It was not the sunny day we had hoped for, but overcast, and then foggy.   We drove near the shore of Cayuga Lake as we neared the north end.   Through the fog we could see hundreds of geese and ducks,  though there were probably thousands out there.

We wished that the Montezuma drive was open,  but that will be another month yet.

We zoomed along towards Auburn,  turned onto the Turnpike Road,  and that is when the car shuddered and the check-engine light came on.     Instead of having a relaxing dinner and afternoon visit,  we took turns with the phone book,  trying to find a place that could look at the car.     With Dad’s chauffeuring,   George found a place that would look under the hood,  and make the decision whether we could drive the seventy-five miles back home today.

We had a nice dinner of pork roast,  mashed potatoes, asparagus, and coleslaw.    While George agonized over the thought of driving the ailing car home,   I sat with Evelyn,  and helped her set up a blog.   Dad has been blogging for awhile,  and she wanted to have a go at it too.

We were given the green light by the mechanic that spent time with the car,  so we decided to head home early in case there was any difficulty.    At a steady high speed,  the car did well.   It was in the lower gears that it struggled.    We were both relieved when we finally arrived home.    How nice that daylight was extended for our trip….

It’s frustrating to have car troubles.   We’ve known many in our 36 years together.    But,  put in perspective,  it is a very small thing.     With all the difficulties and hardships suffered by others in these uncertain times,  we can live with the inconvenience of a car in the shop and a car repair bill.

We stayed around home today, waiting for the refrigerator repairman. A quirky noise, which I describe as a ping pong game, goes on every time our refrigerator has been opened for any length of time. It turns out that it is nothing, just a reaction between the styrofoam insulation and the cooling pipes each time the refrigerator cycles. I guess we can put up with a little ping-pong as long as our electric usage has gone way down in the past month, which our bill in today’s mail says it has.

I put this day at home to good use.   Laundry and cooking and cleaning through the day with a trip to the grocery store, a short nap, and some time on the computer.   Of course,  Saturday for me means a Feederwatch day.

My first brown-headed cowbird showed up earlier this week,  but was nowhere to be seen for the count today.

George made up some suet, and cleaned out the nest boxes out back.   Bluebirds have been stopping by, so I’m hopeful that they might consider moving in.

The grackles did find the peanut feeder, as the ring was empty when I returned from work last night.

The temperature has gone up about forty degrees from where it was at the beginning of the week.   The sun was out this morning,  and spring was in the air.     Even the afternoon rain seemed to hint at greener things to come.

It was quite a jolt this morning when I headed out to the feeders and felt the wind. We missed out on the snows hitting the northeast, being just enough inland, but the bitter cold temperatures reminded me that winter has a ways to go yet. I apologized to the little songbirds waiting in the trees while my frozen fingers fumbled with the feeder caps.

Tonight the furnace seems to be working overtime, I traded in my terrycloth slippers for a pair of wool socks, and there is a windchill advisory for the morning. Brrrrr.

It was 15 degrees this morning when I headed out to the deck in my bathrobe and slippers to start the Feederwatch day.   Yesterday we made a trip to Ithaca for a 50# bag of mixed seed to add to my 50#s of sunflower.    I have less feeders out this year,  so the birds are having to take their turn.

It’s always good when the tufted titmice get their turn,  as I don’t see them that often.   They fly into the willows,  then down to the lilac bush,  and wait till the feeder closest to the house is available.

The house finches seem fewer this year,  outnumbered by American goldfinches by far.

The common grackles are back,  and its only a matter of time till they discover my peanut ring and empty it.

Each weekend now,  it seems that the goldfinches are a brighter color.   Unfortunately,  his beautiful yellow is in contrast with the messy deck rail,  thanks to the starlings.

I counted twelve red-winged blackbirds this weekend.   They’ll stick around till the end of summer now.

We had a drive out into the county on our roundabout way to get groceries this afternoon.    We spotted this mockingbird,  who flew down to the little stream for a drink as we watched.

Back home,  the red-winged blackbirds were looking for little pockets of water to drink from too.

The birds need warm weather and a good thaw as much as I do!