2.1.26 ~ Arcadia
On the last day of January a snowstorm arrived in North Carolina, covering every one of its 100 counties with snow. We got about four inches and I had evacuated my place to get snowed in with my daughter and her family. The next day I put on my boots for the first time down south here, and walked across the yard to Sally’s for a brief visit. We had a lovely time there birdwatching outside her windows. We saw a couple of kinds of birds I hadn’t seen in quite a while, along with the regular backyard birds.
A female Purple Finch with a yellow throat is an uncommon, atypical color variation of the species, often described as having a pale, yellow-tinged patch on the throat, breast, or rump instead of the usual white and brown, likely due to plumage, diet, or developmental factors. These sightings are rare compared to the common white-eyebrowed, heavily streaked brown plumage of typical females.
~ AI
Following the ice storm of the previous weekend, this is the first snowfall, since I moved down here, that has been more than a dusting or a coating of ice. When Larisa drove me home two days later the roads were passable but still dicey in spots. It’s been so cold, with many nights dipping into the teens. It feels like New England and I can’t say I’m happy about that. If I have to live down south I want it to go back to its normally mild winter temperatures!
A no-cost trip to New England, eh? 😉
And from the sounds of it you’re getting a no-cost trip to the Arctic! 😉
Truth! Hopefully, it’ll return to more ‘normal’ temps this week.
🤞
A beautiful array of birds! I was visiting nieces in Georgia and we had a beautiful snow. One lovely day and then it was gone. Unfortunately, the deep freeze in FL while I was gone damaged so many of my plants. Joe brought some in but it will be a long time before my yard, and many others, recover.
Thank you, Anna! I’m so sorry to hear about the damage that deep freeze did to your garden. With climate change in full swing I guess we’ll have to expect all kinds of weather surprises in the coming years. I hope you’ll have some fun bringing your garden back to life.
I share your disdain for all this cold and snow, Barbara. That same storm dumped nearly a foot of snow here, and we’ve been so cold (below freezing, day and night) that it can’t melt. Topping it off, we’ve had mostly cloudy days, too. Spring just can’t come soon enough for me! But I love your birds — visiting the feeders and showing us their beauty.
A foot of snow sounds like part of the perfect recipe for a good case of cabin fever! It’s no wonder you’re yearning for spring, especially when the snow is showing no signs of melting. Getting outside for fresh air and exercise is so important, but it takes a lot of motivation and willpower to bundle up and get out there, even for a simple walk.
These are some wonderful bird photos Barbara – what a nice selection you got, so good thing you took your camera along with you to Larisa’s. I’ve never seen a Purple Finch or a Brown Thrasher. I don’t blame you for saying if you’re down south you want mild winter temperatures … after all, you deal with the heat and humidity for months on end in the Spring/Summer, so you’d better reap some nice Winter weather!
Thank you, Linda! I don’t get to see purple finches and brown thrashers very often, in fact, that’s only the second brown thrasher I’ve ever seen, both times down here in NC. Even though the below normal temperatures down here are making it feel like New England, the below normal temperatures in New England are more like the Arctic! Even a blogger I follow in Sweden is complaining about canceled activities because of temperatures well below normal for them.
You were extra lucky then at these sightings Barbara.
This is such a horrible Winter and somewhere I tucked away the “Old Farmer’s Almanac” predictions I saw on one of my weather sites wherein they say it will be a dry Spring. I have to find the link or Google around for it. This bitter cold is awful. We are day #2 of the last bout of it, probably like New England’s but they have more snow than here. We have 39 degrees coming Tuesday, but it starts out with freezing drizzle. Hope we indeed get to 39 so the ice doesn’t form and stay as it’s icy around my house from the snow we got late last week. I had to kick snow over some of it as it’s glare ice and I don’t want to wipe out. I shoveled into the street from my driveway Thursday and pushed the snow to the side. Someone must have pulled up in a heavy truck and scattered the snow and it has made frozen, sharp mounds of ice so I couldn’t get out if I wanted as I’d risk tire damage. It was bitter cold all weekend, but sunny and blue skies. Sigh.
And apparently we are in a severe drought now. I hope the spring won’t be as dry as the Almanac predicted! Sounds like quite a battle you’re having with the snow trucks and your driveway. I do hope you get some melting and some relief soon, my friend.
That’s amazing that you are in severe drought now. We were in moderate drought by the end of the Summer/Fall months. The ragged ice patch across the driveway is finally melted from our one-day thaw a couple of days ago and today was the first day I got out again since the last snow/ice storm and went to the Park and it was the first time I took the camera outside since November!
What a wonderful variety and lovely captures of so many birdies, Barbara!
And another hug for you too….
(((Hugs are so appreciated!)))
Thank you so much, Donna!
It certainly has been a very cold and snowy winter. I’ve had about enough of it at this point and am REALLY looking forward to my Florida vacation next week. Thank goodness Florida’s temperatures appear to be returning to normal in the forecast.
Your bird photos are great! I especially like the female purple finch and the downy woodpecker – those little cuties have been favorites of mine for a long time.
Thank you, Karma! And I hope you’re having a great time in Florida! The locals here are all commenting that this has been the coldest winter they can remember in a long time. Can’t wait to see my heating bill, it will probably be a doozy. It was good seeing so many birds doing so well that day, in spite of a harsher winter than they must be used to here.
Oh Barbara. I had such silly hope that you might enjoy the 4” of snow and the winter cold for a few days. It reminded me of your CT winters. I read from this post that you are not happy about it one bit.
You are so fortunate to have loving family so close to drive you to an escape and look after your safety. Being with your children to experience these weather events must feel wonderful. And your new friend to visit just next door is such a great delight. Watching the birds from Sally’s window must have given you such joy.
I think our 2 weeks of winter is in the rear view mirror. It’s been a very short winter. It was certainly cold. Even inside wrapped in my comforter my feet felt painfully ice cold.
My vertigo has passed. Yorkie and I are getting a mix of indoor and outdoor time together.
Spring will be soon for you too! ❄️🌷
Methinks it’s easier to enjoy the snow (and all the excitement it brings with it) when one is young and healthy. At this point in my life I feel so vulnerable to my environment that I’ve come to dread feeling cold and to fear going out into a snowy landscape. But I can still dream of those days when I loved getting up at dawn to shovel our car out so Tim could drive to work. And days farther back in childhood when my father would build us igloos to play in and when my sister and I would play outside for hours on end. How ice would form on our mittens and we could dry them out on the radiators inside. Sigh. To be young again…. I have no memory of being this sensitive to the cold when I was little so I’m thinking it might be a good thing I moved to a warmer place.
Yes, come spring!!! ❄️🌷
Absolutely this is how I feel too! “To be young again…. I have no memory of being this sensitive to the cold when I was little so I’m thinking it might be a good thing I moved to a warmer place.” Or younger, I would say. Even here, my feet especially my toes feel painfully cold when temperature drops into the 50Fs & 40Fs. It is much better than living in the long winters of shoveling snow and salting ice. Although I miss beautiful Colorado with all that it offers, it was a good thing to relocate back south to Texas.