I'm noticing birds, these days

Until we moved back here in the pasture, I wasn't much of one to notice birds, unless they were brightly-colored. Seeing gray birds at a distance, I always assumed they were sparrows; I didn't really care what they were.

After I put a feeder out, and then a birdbath, I began trying to figure out what kinds of birds were visiting me.

The bird that most commonly shows up at my feeder is the house finch. I thoroughly enjoy them. In summer they coexist with their cousins, the goldfinches. The bird seed I buy is mostly finch-friendly, so that probably has much to do with what varieties of birds I see.

This winter I still have my house finches, and I think I may have seen one or two dull-colored goldfinches.

But these are far outnumbered by a bird I had never noticed before in my life, the Junco. (Pardon the poor quality of the little video.) Often I see eight or ten of them on the ground when I look out the window. Thanks to Google, I learned that this is "south" to them, and in spring they'll travel north to Canada. In my reading about them, I saw it mentioned that a brush pile might make them feel safer, so I dragged my poor old dry Christmas tree out to the bottom of the feeder pole. Indeed, they do seem to enjoy hopping under it and perching on it.

This is the strangest thing: I was just getting ready to tell my readers that I don't see cardinals back here, since they like lots of trees and our trees are only young, small ones. Before I could get two words typed, a female cardinal showed up and made my day. She spent at least a half-hour here. It would be nice if she'd bring one of her bright-colored boy friends along.

This just goes to show that you can still find new things to enjoy when you're past sixty: At my age, it's nice to once again find something that amazes me. Thank God for the birds.