Thursday’s Thoughts, With Coffee! #15

Good morning on this cloudy, and somewhat chilly, Thursday. Get yourself a cup of coffee and watch with me out the window as we check on the happenings outside. Coffee is so great on this chilly, cloudy mornings. Just seems to have a different flavor to it somehow. Like drinking coffee outside, it takes on a whole new flavor!

I will need to be more careful about looking around before going out to feed the birds in the morning now. I go out quite early since it is daylight so early now, something that I enjoy. But, now that bears are active and food for them is scarce this time of year, I really should look carefully before going outside. I do bring in the feeders at night, so there is no food out there for the bears, but that does not stop them from coming onto the deck to look around.

Male Pileated Woodpecker, likely thinking “dropped that nice big piece in that dirty snow”

They remember the places that they have found food in the past, so they keep checking. One, or more, has been here 3 times now, last night being the latest visit from a bear. Well, really it was this morning. Since he was still out there when I went out with the bird feeders. He was out back tearing apart an old tree stump, looking for ants or other insects. There must have been something interesting in there for him anyway.

He was on the other side of the fence, which does not really mean anything since the fence is broken there and bears have gone through that spot before. Sigh. He left when I came out, thankfully, guess he was finished with his breakfast project. It did get my heart thumping just a bit though. Then I went over to hang up the bird feeders and a deer came rushing out from under the deck.

Here he is again.

She must have been sleeping under there and I woke her up. However, the sudden noise after just seeing a bear, well, that really got my heart thumping. Made me drop one of the bird feeders. Sigh. Anyway, all was okay, bird feeders were up and the birds arrived while I was doing this. Chloe, the Boreal Chickadee was anxiously fluttering around me looking for her peanut pieces, so I quickly put some on my hand and she landed right away, took a piece, chirped her “thankyou” and left.

I never get tired of that. Just so beautiful. The big Pileated Woodpecker was back again, several times, and I got more pics of him, so I am showing some more today. It is so exciting to get such closeup pics of this magnificent bird. Yesterday was mainly sunny and 64F (18C) once again. Much of our snow is now gone, the front yard is free of snow, the back out here still has snow, from 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30cm) still.

Can even see his tongue in this one.

It will be much cooler for a few days, but hopefully it will warm up again next week. The birds are busy out there, grosbeaks, chickadees, juncos, pine siskins (one of these will be the featured image at the top today), purple finches. Hopefully I can continue with feeding birds a little longer yet, but with bears coming around already, that could be a problem. We shall see. I hope you all have a wonderful day and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2023 Steve McLeod.