Singin' the blues

Oh you gotta pay your dues
if you wanna sing the blues
and you know it don't come easy...


A classic old Beatles tune, and one that popped into my head as I listened to the sweet notes of the bluebirds in the garden this morning.  Monsieur had his head tipped back as he belted out his song.

 Interestingly, they seem to have their sights set on the box in my butterfly garden, which is right next to the patio.  I'm not sure how that will work out in terms of them being comfortable so close to humans, but I guess we'll see.  Madame was busy selecting just the right bits of grass to place in the box, while Monsieur occasionally went in to inspect.  At one point, Madame was inside rearranging things when two chickadees started fluttering around the opening, landing on the top, and generally raising a little chickadee ruckus.  After several minutes, Madame flew out of the box and took her place on top while the 'dees flew to the cherry tree and dee'd at her.  Strange.  Mind you, there are still 5 other boxes for the chickadees - and all of them are in better 'dee locations.

All the lovely blossoms that covered our cherry trees several days ago have now been frozen twice and have given up the fight.  They are hanging limply on the tree while a few very brave bumble and honey bees circle around trying to extract nectar - probably a losing proposition at this point.  I always love the week or so when the cherry trees are blooming because (usually) there are scads of different kinds of bees and pollinators around - not going to happen this year.  Oh well.

Saw the season-first Chipping Sparrows today - wasn't quick enough to get a photo, but expect I'll have more opportunities in the next few days.  If so, I think that will be YardBird 30 this year.  

And, by my reckoning, the first hummingbirds should start to arrive by the end of this month!  That is always a happy time for me, seeing the first flash of red gorget in the garden.  By the end of April, the warblers will be getting close to our area, as will orioles and other colorful summer birds.  A time of year I love...

Thanks for the lovely comments on the Tinies yesterday - I had to explain repeatedly why I wasn't going to blip them again today.  They like being the center of attention, it seems.  Little scamps.

It's Wednesday and you know what that means ... Hump Day!

Toodles, people.