The loveliest of them all

I hadn't seen this particular female Northern Cardinal in a while, so wondered if she'd fallen prey to something...so you can imagine my delight when I spotted her on the cherry tree.  She has unusually vivid coloring for a female with a very distinct orange breast.  Lovely to see her, and solved my blip dilemma for the day.

Spring is definitely in the air.  I heard the first Eastern Phoebe of the year singing somewhere back in the woods; and I spotted a Carolina Wren with a beak full of nesting material (too fast to get a shot, unfortunately).  Lots of singing from the White-throats and Juncos, both of whom are preparing to move north into their breeding range.  How I love this time of year - it fills me with hope.

Hubs and I gymmed today - another cardio day for me since my shoulders were a bit sore from Sunday's workout.  

The first blossom on the cherry trees has popped open (all the way at the top, of course, out of camera range) and was getting lots of action from tiny bees.  And I, once again, missed a big fat bumble bee in the daffodils.  And only a couple of days until my mini-blip meet with Wendy and Suzanne!

Phoebe continues to improve, albeit slowly.  Today we let her out of sick bay for the first time in nearly a month. She was tentative and careful on the stairs, much to our relief.  We will keep her locked in with us at night but give her run of the house during the day. Funny that she chose to mostly stay upstairs.  

Thanks, as always, for stopping by.

xo
Debbi