Spring Snow & Bluebirds

Early spring arrives in Ohio in a rather erratic fashion, winter-worn and weary, we are teased with a morning of brilliant sunshine.  The birds sing the daffodils and crabapple nod flowery yellow & white heads.

Ah, but lest we think it's time to get out the lawn chairs, noontime brings a surprise snowstorm that catches us all unaware.  The birds are especially bewildered by the snowy blast, many have started nests and have tiny eggs hidden away in the bird boxes, thankfully this will be a brief wintry event, snowy as it seems.

The sun will reappear shortly but in the meantime, there is a flurry of activity and the small folk of our place seems chilly and yet hopeful. A tree full of House Finches looks like rosey red ornaments in the little maple tree.

We have rather an amazing rapport with the birds, especially a resident small flock of Bluebirds that have come to call Foxglove home.  I'll share their stories in upcoming blog posts, they've become quite tame and follow me around the farm hoping for a handout of their favorite snacks. I'm only too happy to keep tidbits for such beautiful visitors.  It's a gift to live in such a beautiful setting, to have close daily contact with such a delightful cast of tiny characters, even the small Red Squirrel who has come to consider our farm his own personal source of all peanut-flavored snacks!

Snow at Foxglove Farm

He closes his bright eyes as the snow comes down and frosts his furry coat.

I tap the window glass to send him scurrying, it's time the Cardinals had a chance at the feeder too!

Daffodils bend low as the temperature dips below freezing, ah but this is Ohio, and fear not, the sun will return.  By this afternoon, the birds will sing happily as they work on small nests and begin laying plans for summer with winter past for another year.