Brrrrrr

This pretty well sums up the weather - COLD. The Bistro was jamming from sun-up today, non-stop action. Visitors included four kinds of sparrows, four different woodpecker species, cardinals, titmice, blue jays, chickadees, 11 wild turkeys and one Coopers Hawk. The Cooper's went away hungry, but everyone else ate well.

As for me, I regained a measure of sanity and tranquility after a tough few days. I've got workers here all day, ripping out an old fireplace to install a new, high-efficiency wood fireplace that will also help heat the house. A big job with lots of sawing and noise - both cats are upstairs hiding under one of the beds. As for me, I am catching up on some things in the office, with plenty of time out to watch the birds and find my zen.

We were able to get some of the pipes thawed last night, but one remains stubbornly frozen. And since the temps are going to continue to be way below normal for the next week or so, I don't have much hope of the pipe thawing on its own. We'll have to decide whether to bring in a plumber as a preemptive move, or to take our chances that the pipe won't burst when it thaws. But, at least our house has heat!

My second choice for today was a Frosty dark-eyed junco, trying to keep warm.

I also discovered today that one of my photos on Flickr has had over 18,000 views! Holy crap! It is the Tongue in Beak shot that I posted a week or so ago.

Well, off to see how the fireplace is coming along. I will try to start getting caught up with journals tonight...can't wait to see what everyone has been up to!

Cheers,
Debbi

PS: Today in NJ the high was about 16 degrees Fahrenheit. Last year on this day , I was in sunny FL seeing an amazing assortment of birds!