Saturday, January 5, 2013

January migration

A couple of years ago I found my neighbor's Christmas tree leaning forlornly against their trash can, ready for the garbage truck.  Ack!   So I hustled over there and dragged the tree to my place where I staked it up next to the bird feeder.  It made a wonderful shelter for little birds to hide from the hawk.  And it looked so pretty when the branches were bedecked with fresh snow. 

Balsam fir in winter roost
Not only was the tree pretty - but smart.  Somehow in the transition it had left a trail of breadcrumbs or something showing the way from that trash can to my bird feeder.  I know this for a fact since last year one evening just before New Year's, I found the neighbor's Christmas tree lying on the driveway next to the bird feeder, waiting to be roosted like the previous year's tree.  Well.  Great.  Up ya go, fella.

Now that I know the trees know their way, I was keeping an eye out for the annual migration this year, hoping to catch the move in the act.  Alas.  It seems that from one gaze out the kitchen window to the next this year's tree appeared once again lounging around the bird feeder.  Dang. I missed it.

Not to keep things waiting, I slogged through the snow this morning, pounded in a stake and tied the tree upright.  There.  Annual migration over.  Like the others, this fir will provide shelter for the birds and give me some nice winter interest until Spring.

And, by the pic below, you can see that the TREE gets a nice view too. :-D

The 11th day of winter snow.  Already SOME folks are tired of it.
 Really? Only 11 days?  Oh puh-leeeeze.

11 comments:

  1. Good idea about the shelter for the birds when feeding. We lost our big elm and now they have no place nearby . the cats sometimes lay under the feeder.....just waiting. We need to check the farm for something suitable for them to perch on.

    Your birds do get a lovely view!

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    1. It always looks pretty when we have a few inches of snow. And, believe it or not, the house is warmer too as the snow on the roof is an insulator. Hope you find a roost for your birds this year.

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  2. That tree looks like it should be growing there. Yes we still have our blizzard snow and probably will have it for another week. It will last over three weeks or more. Here in Iowa it will start to snow again and it all blends together.

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    1. Happy New Year, Larry. Sounds like your snow will last longer than ours - we're in for some mild temps end of this coming week. I really dislike rain on top of snow... what a mess that makes.

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  3. I think that tree looks great there! No snow here and temps of 50 next week. Argh! I want winter! Or at least a lot of rain for the garden. How are you feeling? I would never recommend you see a shrink. You're way too sane. :o) My son saw a physiatrist after suffering a nerve injury in football. She was very helpful.

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    1. Tam - we're expecting some rain later this week. I sure hope the ice dams on the roof are melted off before that else I worry about water intrusion.

      I'll shoot you an e-mail with medical update.

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  4. Now that is recycling with a different slant. Well done - I'm sure the birds are glad of the protection too :)

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    1. I just couldn't see a tree sacrificed for just 2 weeks for someone's holiday. At least now it's harvest will have several more month's of usefulness before it's cut up for the summer gardens. Yep - lots of sparrows in there now. :-D

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  5. Goodness Kris, you certainly have a lot of interesting blogs to choose from. I'd have never thought of that for a discarded Christmas tree. I just feed mine to the goats, who crave the vitamin C this time of year. :)

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  6. That's a great bit of recycling and provides much needed evergreen cover for the birds :}

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  7. I meant to say how pretty your snow looks - please do not think to share it. Keep it your side of The Pond*


    * (giggle, how many times this year can I get Pond into your comments? ha ha ha)

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