6 April 2026  

-- downy woodpecker, black-capped 
chickadee, female cardinal, robin

when i got home from work, i lay in bed
and looked out the window and saw a downy
woodpecker on a high thin branch of the 
birch tree, which has just started to sprig
bright shoots and sprays of spring green. 

i watched him putter from branch to branch,
bobbing his beak as he sought his dinner.

later, as i sat at our dinner table looking
out the window, i saw the enormous robin 
nudging around in the violets and grass. 
at one point, he seemed to stop and look 
right at me. "hi Robin!," i said. i tried
to decide how i'd describe his size. larger
than most kittens, smaller than a gopher?

a black-capped chickadee was clinging to
the swinging cable, looking about to hop
over to the feeder, and was scared off by 
a flurry of something reddish-brown. soon
after, a female cardinal landed on top
of the feeder tote directly in front of 
the window. she was lovely with her 
striking black mask, and bright streaks
of red in her tail and edging along other
parts of her mostly pinkish-greenish-
brown feathers.