A cat, presumably His Nibbs, had me scratching my head this morning.
A set of tracks was plain to be seen coming around from the patio and down the walkway.
Just before the garage the tracks split, one set heading left, the other right but how had one cat become two?
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There was no backtracking and these were single tracks.
The boy showed up for a snack and short visit but would not offer an answer.
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A black and white cat has been coming by recently, but if it had been with Nibbs this morning, there would have been a second set of tracks.
Anyway, we don’t think Nibbs and BW hang out together. When we first saw BW I was inclined to call it she but seeing these pictures, we’ve decided it must be a male.
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Black and white is very wary. I happened to lift my eyes at the right moment and saw it on the walkway the other day. As I grabbed the camera, I noticed it was limping.
Hopefully it is only a minor injury as there is nothing we can do for a cat that flees at the sight of us.
Maybe we should call it Chester after the character on Gunsmoke.
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The scene has certainly changed since yesterday afternoon. The woods usually have this appearance after driving snow but so far there has been very little wind.
Mostly, it has just been light snow with occasional heavy downpours.
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Snow causes a frenzy at the birdfeeders and also brings out the juncos.
“This is more like it!”
Maybe it’s partly that they are more noticeable against a white background.
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Having provided a big morning top-up, I went out a couple of hours later with another jug of seed.
Then at lunchtime, Grant took out a whole tray, nicely laid out like a birdy smorgasbord!
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Crows were feasting on peanuts and frolicking during the heaviest snow.
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“We’re penguin crows!”
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A dove was sitting in the snow. When Grant went to check it flew off.
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The squirrels of course were tucking in to extra rations, though Little Red seems to be staying in.
I tipped some nuts just inside the groundhog hole for Scooter.
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“Cool, look at the snow on that junco…
…hang on, that’s not a junco….”
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…that’s a…that’s…
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Notso! (Not so much a sparrow)
It’s a female cowbird.
When at the end of the Fall, Notso was living with our flock of sparrows, we figured she had grown up thinking herself to be a sparrow, since cowbirds lay their eggs in other bird’s nests.
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The minute you name a wild animal, you become invested in its wellbeing. We watched out for Notso and wondered if she “spoke sparrow”.
The sparrows would have known she was different but she appeared to be part of the flock.
We loved seeing Notso but then suddenly she was gone.
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Notso’s disappearance coincided with the brief visit of a flock of starlings.
On that occasion, we had seen them only in trees at the bottom of the field. I was outside listening to their clamour and noticed a small delegation fly up toward the house, swoop over and then rejoin the main flock.
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When we realised she was gone, it was my theory that Notso had gone with the delegation of starlings. I mused that they had come to take her back to her people, so to speak.
It was a way of explaining her absence that was acceptable to us, but it was strange that she disappeared that very same day.
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Recently I’ve posted pictures of starlings that are visiting again.
Most of the flock seem to have gone today, but one or two have stayed.
And out of the blue a female cowbird turned up.
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“Hello Notso!”
“We missed you!”
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How can I possibly know that this is Notso?
Well I can’t, but why would a lone cowbird turn up here in the middle of winter?
Did the starlings bring her back?
???
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Grant also has a theory.
You see Notso disappeared shortly after we lost Penny and Toby, so maybe she escorted their spirits to that other place.
It makes a sweet story.
Sweet thoughts….. ❤️
Your snow looks lovely!
WOW! A great post full of mystery and intrigue!
Your landscape is beautiful in the snow! Haha, “penguin crows” – what a descriptive name! And I like Grant’s theory about Notso – I’ll hang on to that one! We are back in the south-eastern part of our country and the blue skies we saw on the West Coast are gone. We’re in the Summer rainfall area now and it’s been thundering since early morning – and I love it!
Oh yes, I love a good thunderstorm!
Southern England finally got snow overnight and during the day today. It got as close to us as Felixstowe, then thankfully no further. It does seem inevitable, unfortunately…
Best wishes, Pete.