Notes From Zone 4

It was really hard to motivate myself to get out there and do morning chores this morning. At 7 a.m., it was 11°F with 18 mph winds, steady snow, at about an inch an hour rate. But we bundled up, long johns and double socks underneath my ski suit, and Frank put on

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The flocks of birds at the feeders today was so varied! It was really colorful out there today, and I couldn’t stop taking pictures. We’ve had Grosbeaks before, but not very often. Today we got both Evening Grosbeaks (the yellow ones) and Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks. We probably had six or seven pair of each, which

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All of the window boxes are now out lining the deck. They look quite lovely, though still obviously new. I bribed Valerie into hauling them all up for me this weekend. It feels late in the year to have done it, but supposedly only a week later than last year. It’s been conveniently raining just enough each day to keep them all watered, because Frank hasn’t hooked up the irrigation for them yet. The Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks made an appearance today.

The tulips are out in full force right now, even thought the daffodils haven’t finished their run. They look really nice against the backdrop of the stone wall. The daffs haven’t really begun to fade yet, so the contrast is really nice. We need many more bulbs, just for the record. A flock grosbeaks has arrived at our feeders on the upper balcony. We’ve had the gold and purple finches for a while, but the grosbeaks just got here.