Helping Our Feathered Friends...

Brrr...Winter is definitely here and unfortunately it has brought it's harsh cold weather, making me feel blessed with the warm home I live in and the fact that I do not have to go outside and hunt for my next meal.  As I look out my window from my perfectly comfy couch I am aware of the harsh elements that mother nature has to offer our fine feathered friends this time of year.  I know I'm not an Ornithologist and I won't lie, I did do a little Google searching.  In researching, I find that birds have an extremely high metabolism and some have to consume up to 80% of their body weight, which is mostly burned up just keeping warm.  Now I am not a genius and I'm a lady so I'm not giving my weight, but let's just calculate that a human, at the weight of 150 lbs, would have to eat about 120 lbs a day just to keep warm.  Now, if there is snow on the ground, I'm sure finding sufficient food without extensive foraging is exhausting to them.  This is where we can help.  Pull those feeders out of your sheds or garages clean them up and the next time you are at your favorite Garden Center or Feed Store pick up a couple pounds of Bird Seed.  Birds are our friends folks.  Without them we could be infected with insects, our crops could not be pollinated properly and come on, they are just fun to watch.  Now, some of our feathered friends have become, "snow birds," and have gone south for the winter, but just stop and watch the snow covered hedges and icy tree branches for the glimpses of Cardinals, Chickadees, Finch, Juncos, Sparrows, Nuthatches and Woodpeckers and tell me they don't bring a little warmth to the Brrr...outside.