20 feet away from one of the bird-viewing picture windows, I slowly
opened my eyes and pulled the bedding away from my ears, to be greeted
to the day by a rambunctious bevy of buzzing bushtits (about 20)
clinging to a swinging suet feeder on a dead, but effective branch of
a bush just outside in the Barboretum. It was about 9:30 a.m. and all
around the periphery of this feverishly-feasting flock, were the
starlings, building up their crackly volume in the trees, and waiting
until the wave of little ones moved on to the next stop of their
progressive breakfast event, before descending to make short work of
the remaining suet cake. But the ball of bushtits was first to my
senses on January 1st, 2012!

Here's to a Big Year of any kind!


Barb Deihl

North Matthews Beach - NE Seattle

barbdeihl at comcast.net