Crocus Hopes

Today Mama and I went outside. We had fun looking for flowers and we found some crocus buds.

The crocus buds were little buds. It was really cold outside. It was really windy too. They didn't have any sign of the flower except the for the bud. We just had a snow on Sunday, and there are still patches of snow in places. Before we found the buds we found the crocus leaves, and then we looked closely and saw the precious little bud that will bring a flower.

Daffodil sprouts. The same time we went outside we went found daffodil sprouts. They were big and green because they had come come up before the crocus. They were tall and wide, but they still had their precious little promise of a flower; they had their leaves. Soon they will have a bud, then the bud will grow taller. It might even grow an inch in a day. I remember last year when we went to church, there was just a bud, and when we came home, there was a flower. I remembered that before the flower bloomed there was just a plain bud on the stem. When the day was over, I went to show Emily Rose, and it had grown an inch. It kept growing about an inch a day.

Narcissus sprouts. The same time we went out, we saw some narcissus sprouts. They weren't even 1/8 of an inch tall, but they were there. They were still yellow. They probably didn't poke out of the ground more then a day ago. They didn't have any sign of them ever having a flower. They were just closed leaves. But soon they will have taller leaves. They grow about the same rate as daffodils. They are so pretty. I think they look like happy children smiling with bright sun around them. They are they are cutest of bulb flowers. They are my favorite. I like how the leaves look. They aren't as dark as daffodils.

Dandelion bud. When we were starting to walk inside. We saw a dandelion bud. It was half open. You could see the yellow petals even. It look cold. Maybe it was shivering. Maybe it had woken up too early, but it still was there. He was probably wondering where his friends the honey bees were to polinate him. But he will wait a while before the honey bees come. There was almost no insects out there at all. We did find a few box elder bugs, but they don't do much polinating.

Birds on the Deck

Last week I put some sunflower seeds out on deck railing for the birds. Oregon Juncos came and ate it because there was about 2 inches of snow covering the ground. I kept putting little bits of seed out for them, then I put some right down on the deck, and they came and ate there. It was a new thing for the birds to be so close to the house. They were very cautious, but soon more more birds came. There were house finches. They are not ground feeders, so they were very scared. Mom was very happy to get a picture of the house finch because they usually fly away. Then some white crown sparrows (mature and immature) came and took over. I thought they looked pretty, but the house finches were the prettiest because they have a red breast. Every bird really liked the seeds oh, so much.

Sunday was the day it snowed 8 inches. It started out raining and freezing rain. They had fun slipping around on the deck trying to find seeds. Then it started to snow. The snow flakes didn't stick at first, but when they started to stick they really stuck and piled up. Before for long the birds had to dig for their food. They walked over a place where they thought there was seeds, they tried to dig up the seeds with their feet. Only occasionally did one get a seed or two. They got tired of digging so they flew over to the other feeder, under the eves of the house. They don't like it as much. Most of the birds went over to my green feeder hanging from the tree. They like that one better, even though it isn't sheltered.

Sometimes you would see a slate colored juno. They weren't as common as most of the birds on the deck, but they came. Occasionally a morning dove came and scooped up a few seeds. A flicker flew down and pecked at a seed. Even sometimes a goldfinch would come fluttering down and eat a seed, but they liked the thistle feeder the best. They all thought I was a very hospitable man to give them so many seeds. There were so many birds I couldn't count them. No one knows how many birds there were. The birds ate the seeds so fast I had to keep putting them out. The snow is melting, but even now the birds are still coming to eat seeds on the deck.