Windy Weather

It was supposed to rain up here today, but the part of the storm with the rain in it stayed about 400 miles to the north...all we got were the horrible winds.

But, windy weather makes lovely blue skies. 

The baby oak leaves are losing their red and starting to get a bit of green around their edges. 

The wind doesn't seem to bother the birds, thank goodness.  This robin seemed to like the bobbing up and down the branch was doing in the wind...maybe it's like a carnival ride to them, as long as it isn't too strong. 

Linking with Skywatch Friday

Winter Makes a Comeback

It's snowing here today (yay)!  This robin doesn't look too happy, but I'm pretty sure the humans and trees are thrilled.  This snow, coming after rain all last night, is very welcome in these parched mountains. 

Just a couple of days ago the ornamental cherries were in full bloom...

Some pussy willows were even putting out their tiny, tiny flowers. 

But there's no doubt...this robin will be happy once the snow is over! 

Linking with Through My Lens   and  Image-in-ing  

Sunday Sunlight

I think this little guy (or girl) thought he was hiding from me.  I know I was having trouble believing I was actually looking at a robin...in February!  Usually they don't show up until April.  I even saw a hummingbird the day before yesterday!  I rushed to put out fresh nectar, but the hummingbird hasn't been back. 

I've been out getting the garden ready because it's been so warm; that's another thing I usually don't do until around the middle or end of April.  I'm not taking the pine needle mulch off the hydrangeas just yet, though, because the nighttime temperatures are still below freezing.  But, our high today was a crazy 60 degrees F. 

No wonder the birds are confused.

Not Telling

I think this poor robin is really confused.  We had freezing rain during the night of the 7th and it snowed heavily all day yesterday...YAY!  We got almost a foot.  But by next Friday it's supposed to get up to almost 60 degrees F.  I hope that doesn't mean the end of our rain and snow season.  However, I wonder why this robin has arrived in February, when usually I don't see them until late March.  I'd love to know what he knows, but he's not telling.

Ridiculously Early Spring

Well, I guess Spring must be on the way, even though it isn't officially due until March 20th here in the Northern Hemisphere. I've been seeing this little person for the past three days, and even the twigs on the trees are starting to green up.

I really miss the time when the weather and seasons behaved, for the most part, in a predictable manner.

Out of Season

I took this picture on the 22nd. I can't imagine what this poor little fellow was doing up here in a snowstorm, but today I saw two more!

I do hope this isn't a sign that an early spring is on the way. We still need so much rain and snow. But, more than that, I hope these Robins will find a safe, warm place to take shelter in if they plan on staying up here!

It's On Its Way

Spring, that is. I saw this guy (or girl, who can tell with Robins?) while trudging out to fill the feeders this morning, the first Robin of Spring. We still have a lot of snow on the ground, but today warmed up enough so that the snow is starting to melt off the tree branches. The Ponderosa Pines are, mostly, around 200 feet tall and they collect huge clumps of snow in their branches. These clumps solidify during the various thaws, freezes, and grow a little larger with each snowfall, so when they do finally fall out of the trees they come down as one huge chunk. When I'm inside it sounds like someone is dropping large rocks on the roof, and when I'm outside I feel like I should wear a hard hat!