Great Backyard Bird Count

Well, the promise of snow yielded to the always dreaded ice, and so all of our extra-curricular lessons for Monday (violin, piano, karate) were cancelled.  The kids made a valiant effort to sled in the ice, with rain coming down in spite of temperatures in the teens.  Gloves, hats and scarves are all now hanging in front of the fire place to dry while we watch all of our evergreens slowly stoop and bow to the earth under the weight of freezing rain turning to ice heavy on their branches.  We are thankful to have power, since thousands in our area do not.  On a positive note, the kids are all participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count this year, and their observations today have been quite varied and exciting.  So far, they have spotted more than a dozen species visiting our feeders, and the bird count is in the hundreds!