Good morning everyone! Well, this is my 750th post this year! Celebration time with an extra coffee! And maybe I will make some cupcakes for lunch too. This is still less posts than I did the last 3 years, quite a few less. But I will pass the 800 mark before the end of the year. It is another chilly morning, cloudy and snowing right now.

The temperature fell to 2F (-17C) last night, but with the wind it felt like -13F (-25C). It is definitely starting to feel a bit more like winter these days. I was out shopping yesterday morning and there was a stronger wind than today which made for a real biting cold. There is a slight bit of ice forming in sheltered places on the lake now and if the wind calms down, then the lake will likely freeze.

A Pine Siskin trying to make himself look bigger and more fierce.

Looking at that cold water yesterday, it was like the last bit of summer trying to hold on as long as possible. Hmm, it seems to be getting windier all the time. It has been a very windy year for us, and very cloudy too. However, in the winter, cloudy days mean milder temperatures, sunny days are generally cold or very cold.

That does not always hold true, but generally it does. I saw a small flock of birds fly past on Sunday afternoon which reminded me of Pine Siskins. That is why I chose these pics to share today. They are a very small bird, but are quite aggressive when protecting their food and will fight off birds much larger than themselves.

This little Pine Siskin seems to be watching me to make sure I do not get any closer.

I have even seen them chasing Blue Jays away from the feeder. But they are also very friendly little birds and will come to my hand quite readily if there is food. The highest number of Pine Siskins I have had sitting on me at one time is 21. They can also be quite comical in their movements, often head butting another bird that would dare get too close to them.

Muffin is having lots of fun with her new fuzzy ball this morning, but I think she just lost it under one of my cabinets. I better go get it out for her. That was easy enough, I am sure she could have reached it herself, but sometimes I think she just likes to watch me get on the floor and reach under the cabinet to get her toys. Oh well. Minor detail.

This one is also watching me.

She usually puts her head down next to mine, looking underneath the cabinet so she can see better as I reach under with my arm, or sometimes having to use something to reach it if the toy has gone right back against the wall. She does get excited when I finally bring the toy out and toss it for her. She will jump quite high to catch it too.

She loves jumping, although she does not jump as high as she used to when she was younger. Guess she has had enough playtime now and she is going to bed for her morning nap. Her favorite sleeping spot is on top of a cabinet in the bedroom.

This is a more summery pic, these birds stay year round.

She has two blankets to choose from up there, a wool blanket from the 1940s and a quilt that I think is from the 1950s. At night she likes to sleep with me, but she also gets up to play during the night too. Well, guess that is all for now, I hope you all have a wonderful day and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2023 Steve McLeod.