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Out of the Valley

Willow and I took a little drive to see something different, walk somewhere new and maybe find some birds. We had a good walk and saw a few birds, but not very many. It seems like there are fewer birds around this winter. Has anyone else noticed this? At the old cemetery with a nice view, we did hear Pygmy Nuthatches and Red Crossbills and a Red-breasted Nuthatch. Our hike in the hills through what appeared to be good winter habitat with little snow only yielded a flock of House Finches, a couple juncos and flickers. The Common Loon in basic plumage was on the big river. I did drive by a Northern Shrike and later found a Northern Saw-whet Owl. The squirrel was just cute and cooperative.

December Feeder Birds

The feeders have been busy recently. Lots of California Quail, Red-winged Blackbirds, House Finches and Dark-eyed Juncos. Today there were three Spotted Towhees which are not common in winter here. Black-capped Chickadees come by occasionally. Woodpeckers too – Hairy, Downy, Pileated and Northern Flickers. And the occasional Cooper’s Hawk. Plus the view from our house on a sunny winter morning.

The Weather is not Boring

Willow and I spent much of the first half of December walking the hills around the valley on the Methow Wildlife Area. The state closed those lands yesterday for mule deer habitat til next Spring. We never did see a deer all the time we walked out there. We only saw a few birds. We did find some beaver dams and lodges and ponds but didn’t get to see the beavers.

It’s been a mixed bag of weather, that’s for sure. We started out with snow on the ground, thinking we would soon be cross country skiing but no, it rained. It rained inches! There has been flooding in the upper valley and severe flooding in other parts of Washington. We are fortunate here and just had some erosion on our driveway. The rain melted the snow and then we had lots of fog but also a couple sunny days. One day, we got just above the top of the fog. It was beautiful.

Now the hills are closed to us and it’s pouring rain, again. ‘They’ say we will start getting snow again on Thursday. Fingers crossed.

A Dog and Her Stick

Willow likes her sticks. Sometimes she throws them in the air and catches them or just has to chase them down again. Sometimes she likes me to throw them but mostly she entertains herself with them. She does like to make sure I can see her having fun. And she likes to make her sticks smaller as she plays with them.

Marimba Music!

Our local marimba musicians got together at the Grange yesterday to celebrate their music. There are two groups and they mixed and matched and played for two hours. Marimba is joyful music and there were lots of smiles and some singing too.