Waiting for Sunshine and Warm Weather

The good news is that it's stopped snowing.  (Oops, did I say that too loudly?)  The flip side is that it's been raining, drizzling, misting or otherwise making everything very wet for several days.  No sun which equals no warmth.  Our high temps are averaging in the 40s.  But we're so late into the season now that once we do get some sunshine and warmer temps, stand back because everything outside is going to ess-plode!

Early this past week a neighbor down the road a piece stopped by to chat.  Papa Pea was outside so they stood in the yard talking.  Then Chicken Mama coming after work to pick up Tucker joined them.  I was inside cooking dinner (or maybe I was just lying on the couch eating my pre-dinner bon-bons) so was keeping half an eye on the scene through the kitchen window.  Our neighbor left driving down the driveway and out of sight.  Only a couple of minutes later, he returned and handed Papa Pea and Chicken Mama this.

He said he found it in the middle of our drive and thought it might be injured as it wasn't able to walk very well.  The funny-looking little guy was checked over and seemed okay.  My two took him down to the pond where he immediately plopped into the water and began swimming around.

We think he was a Pied-billed Grebe.  They are like loons in that it's difficult for them to walk on land.  He was offered some grain but said he wasn't hungry.  (I think I read they are fish eaters like loons.)  No grebe was in evidence the next morning so we're hoping he took off and reunited with the rest of his kin.

I'll sign off with this picture.  You know you've had plenty of moisture when a seagull starts visiting your bird feeder.  (And, yes, that is still a good-sized drift of snow down at the end of the yard.)