Winter's reprise

It is SNOWING out. The thermometer says 34°. And they call this spring. I thought this is what winter looks like. Spring has been flirting entirely too much. Time for it to make up its mind.

This morning I tossed a handful of in-the-shell peanuts out on the deck to see who would be the first to run off with them. It wasn’t long before a plump little chipmunk came by. I had scattered the peanuts in front of the slider so that I could see who the customers were and this little fellow wasn’t so sure he ought to take any while I stood watching him. It took a couple of minutes of running back and forth before he decided to snatch one and run off with it. After that, he came back and sat right there stuffing his cheeks full. Either I’m not that intimidating or the temptation was too great to not throw all caution to the wind. All peanuts now gone.

My birds are hiding today and there wasn’t even a peep from a blue jay. They are usually on top of the peanut situation. They’re probably sick of snow, too.

There was a robin in the front yard yesterday, though. That’s progress. First one I’ve seen this season and that’s later than usual. The last few years they’ve been back by the end of February, pulling the previous year’s sumac fruits to shreds. No one has touched the sumac fruits this year. It’s a strange year for birds in this neighborhood.