December 9 was my birthday. I won’t write how old I turned; let’s just accept the fact that I’m old and move on.

I had a birthday party and didn’t even wear a mask, nor did my guests. Yes, I know with the COVID pandemic raging I need to be socially responsible and avoid crowds but this was a special occasion, so I figured why not live large? Here’s a video of my cool gathering.

And you thought I would be irresponsible and host a party with humans? Shame on you.

That same day, after all the ducks had chewed and screwed, I received some unexpected guests. Yup, you guessed it, if you guessed Eastern Bluebirds. If not, well, no biggie, I still love you.

Back to the topic at hand–my sister visiting me for my birthday.

One bluebird even spent some time on my new heated birdbath.

To entice the bluebirds to stick around I set up a winterberry feeding station outside my dining room window, which the bluebirds LOVE, by the way.

It seems to be working, since my birthday the bluebirds have become daily visitors, arriving around ten in the morning, and coming back again as the day starts to wane. My table has become my new favorite place to sit and reflect, sip tea, and pretend I’m visiting with my sister as I watch the flashes of cobalt blue outside the window.

I placed some berries in my hummingbird garden, hoping to add a splash of color to the drab shades of brown in the garden. Not only did I get the red from the berries, but, thanks to the bluebirds, I have blue as well. Very colorful indeed.

The bluebirds also joined the Mourning doves that spend time lurking under the feeders in Sparky Park.

The Mourning doves don’t seem to mind the company, they’re really chill birds.

They have to be when other ground feeding birds compete for food.

Other birds that shop for seed at the base of the feeders include:

Chipping sparrows

White-throated sparrows, and Slate-colored juncos (which are a type of sparrow – Who knew?)

and Blue jays, plus assorted House sparrows.

The Blue jays don’t just spend time on the ground. Nah, they’re a grab-it-where-they-can-get-it kind of bird.

The Downy woodpeckers are regulars at the suet feeders …

… along with the bluebirds, lots and lots of bluebirds. Thank you, Dyan.

Somehow, I’ve gotten off track. At first, I was writing about my birthday and the bluebirds visiting me and now I’m listing all the birds I have visiting my feeders. Oh well, having a birdbrain is a sign of old age, right?

Hey buddy, can you spare a buck?

I couldn’t resist the pun. A young buck stopped by the river to have a sip of cold, somewhat clean water. He looked so cute with his new antlers.

Last but not least, no blog post would be complete without mentioning my ducks. Okay, okay, I know I started the post with my ducks but, come on, they’re my flock, my posse…

I’ll leave you with a reminder to watch the sky on Monday, December 21, as the Great Conjunction comes our way. This is when Saturn and Jupiter are super close, appearing to the naked eye as one huge planet. They haven’t been this close since Galileo was dancing a jig in 1623. Go here for viewing information.

That’s all I have for you at the moment. I would like to remind you about the sale of my poetry book to raise money for ovarian cancer victims. Here’s the link in case you forgot: https://amzn.to/3fsaIvK

Thank you and blessed be :}

Mi manchi, mia amata immortale.