Wow, it’s gotten cold around here in a hurry. Maybe the grosbeaks had it right. The whole flock left about a month early. All of a sudden the wooden bird feeders still have food in them by the time the sun goes down and there are no bright yellow clowns in my garden fountain, I am so sad. I miss their silliness. For some reason, they left behind one single pair of fledglings born this year. I have no idea why. They looked lonely sitting on one of the ornamental bird feeders. They stayed for an extra 2 weeks but now they are gone too.So now that everyone is gone I have clean up the yard. It’s time to put away the decorative bird feeders, well, except two for the winter birds. They get cranky if the seed runs out. I keep the 2 sturdiest wooden bird feeders full for them. If I can I take them down I will put a fresh seal of non-toxic wood sealer. But as always I will have to replace a few bird feeders if only because I want a new look or a different ornamental bird feeder. The garden bird fountains need to be scrubbed and put away for the winter as well. I have one birdbath fountain that I keep heated for those cold winter days to come, the birdies love that warm water, but we don’t need it yet.

Right now all the residents are feasting on Mother Natures’ bounty so my seed budget has dropped way down. However, after last week’s cold snap I will have to be on the lookout for the bears until it gets cold enough for them to nap. Rumor has it we have a momma with triplets but that is very rare. We have at least one little bear breaking into houses for goodies in the neighborhood.

I am looking for the perfect winter bird feeder. I find that I may just have to design my own. I have found many great feeders at Birdbathplus.com but this one continues to elude me. When I find it, or design it, I will make sure that you can get one too.