THE DUST WILL WAIT

I took two spills in the snow which was deep and long lasting. Over a month!.  The first tumble was when I fell in the deep snow wearing my husband boots. I was out there before dawn to scatter shredded apple in the back yard for the over one hundred hungry robins that were showing up with the sun.  Plus quite a few other birds as well.    The 2nd time was a foot slipping out from beneath me while making a short trip across the asphalt.  That one hurt .. and twisted my ankle.  The x-rays at the walk in clinic (joke, as I didn't really walk in) showed that all the hardware from a previous break was intact and no broken bones.  Just a sprain which kept me off my feet for a week. But now I'm kickin' dirt. The snow is gone everywhere except in shady areas behind fences and houses and where the trees cover the walking path. This is Chance, one of my grand dogs on our walk today.  He was a rescue while yet quite young.  He has never ...

......Collapse. The sound of our patio collapsing under the ice at 2:30 in the morning was enough to age me five years.  I won't prove it by posting a photo of me. And, DARN.  That Insurance deductible already had a home somewhere else. I'm ready for winter to end.

I've learned much about the robins and winter residents this month.  The first thing is that if you give robins blueberries you might as well go buy a bunch more of frozen ones.  Once they've had frozen blueberries they give you the bird eye until you give them more.  I do provide many choices:  chopped apple, oatmeal, sunflower chips, raisins, grapes, mealy worms.  They eat them all.  But don't ever start with blueberries. Robins also get very domineering and territorial.  One will decide that the feeding area is his or hers alone.  It becomes a chase and fight zone.  So be prepared to shovel snow and create various spots in the yard so that more robins can become land owners. Two days ago I went out early and the robins were waiting.  The frenzy started so I stepped back thinking I would get a nice photo (which I did.)  The surprise came when one of the fleeing robins decided to land on my head.  I was startled but ...