Rusty Pinwheel

A rusty metal pinwheel in one of the garden beds. We got a little bit of snow early this morning.

A Sign of Life in a Garden Bed

This is an oriental poppy peeking up out of a garden bed. My daughter picked out this plant at a nursery a couple of years ago. It brings a spectacular early-season bloom.

Colorful Twigs

Red and green twigs on the pussy willow. You can see where I've hacked on it. I do that a couple of times a year, otherwise, it would grow huge. That happened once, and I had to pay someone to cut it to the ground to get control again.

Assortment of Perching Finches

These are all finches dotting a bare maple tree. See our gray and foggy skies are still here. We've been in an "inversion" weather pattern for a week now. We want the sun to come back.

Textured Ice

A chunk of textured ice and leftover New Year's streamers. The ice was on top of the Princess Cabana. This all might not make sense, but it's just the way my yard looks right now. And looking at the ground is much better than looking at the sky. The inversion continues so not even a tiny speck of sun.

Downy Woodpecker

A sweet little girl downy woodpecker looking for treats in the papery bark of a river birch tree. This is a very small woodpecker, just a little bigger than all the finches that winter around here.

A Kitty That's Been Hanging Around A Lot

This white cat is hanging around a lot. We're not sure if she/he has a home and is using our place as a second home, or if this is truly a stray. It seems fairly tame, doesn't run too far when we appear, but won't let us touch.