Nefarious Nineteen

I was so tempted to post a cardinal today but thought I'd take this day to add to my visual yard bird list with the nefarious House (European) Sparrow.  Here's the ironic thing about this species.  It was introduced to the US where it has thrived, displacing and threatening many of our own native species (like the beloved bluebirds).  In much of it's native habitat in Europe, its numbers are in sharp decline.  I wish we could ship them back...

I never like it when these pretty birds show up at this time of year.  You see, they are cavity nesters and are widely known to "evict" bluebirds and chickadees by killing babies and and any unlucky parent who happens to be on the nest.  The killings are savage; and the sparrows sometimes even build their own nest right over the dead bodies.  Well, you can see why I am not happy to see them during nesting season.  

The cardinal is HERE if you'd care to see him in all his redness.

A rainy, cold day so I decided to have a chat with my parents this morning.  We ended up doing Facetime and I can't tell you how great it was to see their faces!  Not sure why the heck we haven't done this sooner - have to give my dad big props for suggesting it.

And, big news - I just took a beautiful boule of No Knead Bread out of the oven!  Hubs scored some flour at the store this week and I decided to open my past-its-date yeast to see if it would still work.  Eureka!  It does!  And the house smells amazing.  I'm going to make 15-bean soup in the instant pot for dinner tonight which will be perfect for dipping the bread into.  See Extra.

Getting ready to watch Gov Murphy.  Watched Cuomo earlier - he gives me such a sense of confidence.  I shudder to see what New Jersey's numbers are today.  They've not updated them yet, so I'll add them later below.  Come back if you dare...

Stay home, stay safe, be kind...

xo
Debbi

Covid19 stats
Positive cases in NJ as of 1 PM today - 102,196
Deaths in NJ -  5,617
Positive cases in Sussex County - 744 - deaths 82