A regular reader, 29a, known only by his hexidecimal number, warned me early that bad weather was moving in for Thanksgiving Day.
The radar map showed blues, pinks, greens, and yellows, all moving across Benton County, the northwest corner of Arkansas. We are a few miles south of the Missouri border, equidistant from the east and west boundaries of the county.
Sleet will fall until 3 PM, perhaps mixed with snow. We already heard the ambulances, since we are perched high above Route 71. We can look out the window and see cars dealing with the weather. Living along a ravine means beautiful scenery, wildlife, and enormous ditches to catch cars as they slide off the road.
Meanwhile, the birds and squirrels are expressing alarm by feeding rapidly. In general, birds will feed heavily just before a storm, but stay warm and dry during precipitation. It is the avian equivalent of coming home from a restaurant and watching the snow fall from the picture window.
But today, the birds and squirrels are in a feeding frenzy. That suggests their qualms match mine. Chickadees are flocking to the safflower. I opened the front door and saw a small squirrel enjoying the mixed seed, so I added more when he was gone. I provided another ear of corn, hoping I can see one of the squirrels eat later. If I refill the tree corn feeder, that will mean getting cold and wet. Maybe. I know it will get business today.
I never realized that trees and bushes were all-winter bird feeders until I read a book about feeding birds by hand. The best time to try it is right after a sleet storm, when all the bug cases are locked up in ice. Hidden in the bark and hanging on bushes - a wealth of food, waiting to hatch in the spring, to feed the baby birds. We learned in school that birds kept the insect population down. Perhaps the Creator wanted the bird population up.
