Warmer Weather...

It's warming up here in Michigan. The heater has been off for a few weeks now and the windows are open. They are still being closed at night as there is still a bit of a chill in the air. Soon it will be time to put in the window air conditioners. Out in the garden the grass is definitely green and growing faster than we can mow! There are several places in the garden where we let the grass grow wild. I looked out last night just after the sun had set and there was a lovely fat raccoon sitting on top of my green man planter trying to dig for remnants of peanuts that I stick in there for the chipmunks. I watched from the window for a while. No photo. I know from experience that as soon as I open the door it will scamper off to parts unknown. I was content to just watch.

Some of the regular daytime visitors to our garden don't seem to care when I watch, but others a little more apprehensive. The earliest and latest of the daytime visitors are the cardinals that come to the feeder. They seem a bit weary of other birds - especially the wild Starlings babies that have been around lately. Mr and Mrs Cardinal are the first ones at the feeder in the morning - sometimes sitting on the wire frame waiting for food to be put out - and the last ones feeding at night. Perhaps they wait until others aren't around.

They are fun to watch. The males can be quite feisty and seem to fly around chasing one another off. They can also be very sweet to the females. I have watched from afar as the males have fed the female. These are some of the birds that stick around all year. They certainly bring some much needed colour to the garden in winter. In my mind these should be the birds of Michigan rather than the Robin. I see far more of these lovely beauties all year round.