SNOWBIRDS

It must be difficult to be a weather forecaster! Last week more cold and snow was promised than developed. Today more snow and cold came than was predicted. And it just about paralyzed the metroplex.

Since we have so many Alaskan winters behind us, it is always a bit amusing? astounding? perplexing? to see how the Vancouver/Portland folk react to a little winter weather. They never seem to handle the traffic aspect very well, and the schools districts seem to be perpetually confused about whether to cancel or delay classes. Although this surge follows four or five deep-freezing days (with nighttime temperatures into the mid-teens), the unexpected abundance of snowfall still caught most drivers unprepared. TV reports chronicle problem after problem due to iced roads or packed snow, or unskilled drivers.

As for Betty and me, we stayed home, stoked up the woodstove, had tea and bagels, bean soup for dinner, and worked on quiet projects. I printed out a series of photos for a painting project, worked ahead on materials for Bible classes, and spent a lot of time studying the bird feeder action.

The photos today show the perky mountain chickadee snagging a black-oil sunflower seed and a flock of bushtits mobbing the suet feeder. But additionally we had crowds of Oregon Juncoes, several flickers, three pairs of bright orange Varied Thrush, hummingbirds, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, several kinds of House and Purple Finches, a completely fluffed up American Robin (a winter local that looked really miffed today), a couple of kinds of sparrows, a fly-by of crows, a Downy (or perhaps a Hairy) woodpecker, a few LBJs and some bandits (European Starlings - Sternus Vulgaris).

It was great day to relax and NOT be anxious about stuff.
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"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds tham. Are you not worth much more than they?" Mt 6:26
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