Easter Morning

Happy Easter all!

I--not being the church going kind any more--had planned to take an early morning walk along the bike path at Lamb's Creek Recreation Area outside of Mansfield this morning, but when the Chester, the alarm cat, went off at 6:30 AM it was a mere 24 degrees outside. With the promise of 15-25 MPH winds out of the NNW,the prospect of walking a trail that borders the eastern side of wide open fields suddenly lost its appeal.

Still, it's a gorgeous morning here at the Aerie. Our feathered friends have come to partake of our bounty and I've already seen nearly a dozen species from the comfort of my living room chair: Mourning Doves, American Crows, Blue Jay, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-capped Chickadee, American Goldfinch, Pine Siskin, Purple Finch, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, Downy Woodpecker...the usual suspects.

It sure beats the furred company we had last night. I now bring in all the feeders and take the tray feeder off the front deck rail and put it on the deck itself. It hasn't stopped the raccoons. Last night one was on that tray feeder sucking up the few seeds that were still there after the birds finished and the wind blew away most of them. I heard the tray rocking a bit and noticed Shadow and Chester were interested in something out there. When I flicked on the outside light, the 'coon was undeterred at first but then moved off under the Adirondack Chairs and down one of the deck support posts. (How it got his rotund body under the bottom rail--only 4" above the deck is a mystery.) As I watched, I saw him peek over the rail from the outside as if to see if the coast had cleared. He returned when the lights went out and I moved away from the window.

I was curious as to why the 'coon was on the deck when there's an ample supply of seed on the ground where the feeders hang. Thinking there may have been more raccoons over there, I shinned my million candle power flashlight in that area. Nope, no raccoons, just a black bear laying sprawled out over the seed. I thought earlier this year that it was a small bear. Now I'm not so sure. It might have seemed small after a winter of sleeping, but stretched out on the ground, it seemed big enough to have been our visitor from last year. He stayed in the spotlight right up to the time I slid the door open and then beat a hasty retreat up the hillside. He came back an hour later to snack some more.

Well, that's the report for this morning. I'll be back later. Right now there's a melee going on outside with Goldfinches, Siskins, Juncos all fighting over the sunflower seed. I must go out to negotiate a peaceful settlement.