Autumn

It feels as though nature is holding its breath. It's as if winter might spring out of the darkest corner at any second and snatch the precious sunny warmth out from under us. The birds in my backyard can't decide what to do.

I miss birdwatching so I've installed a feeder and a suet basket in our yard. I'm thrilled to say that we've had a variety of birds already and the chickadees are comfortable enough with me to eat out of my hand. I suppose after sitting outside to watch them they've gotten used to me being there.

We've been able to identify the following birds (many with the help of my bird-watching guide):

Bluejay

Cardinal family (male, female and two youngsters!!)

Mourning dove

Chickadee

Woodpecker

Foxtail sparrow

Various finches

Junco

Thrush (although I'm not sure if I'm identifying it correctly)

We haven't had any gold finches yet although we've seen a few other types of finch which seems unusual. We also have one roley poley squirrel but he won't be back for a visit anytime soon. Our resident birdfeeder guard dog, Charlie, has been staying on top of the situation.