cast your dancing spell my way; i promise to go under it

Today is off to a good start so far:

1.  It's Monday and I'm not at work.  The puppies keep looking at me expecting me to give them a goodbye treat and send them to jail... and seem to be having trouble believing their good fortune at finding themselves snuggling on the couch with no apparent end in sight.  On a Monday!

2.  The backyard is filled with happy singing birds who woke us up sweetly before the alarm clock.  Waking up to birds is so much nicer.

3.  The guys from the countertop place called to say that our counter is almost ready!  They are coming in on Wednesday to install it.  This means we will have both counters and sinks by the time J arrives.  

The weather is wet and rainy right now, which I'm hoping will improve as the day progresses.  Yesterday I got three new bird feeders.  We're up to five now which seems like overkill but we have a huge backyard and by filling each feeder with different types of seeds we can attract a greater variety of birds and reduce the need for them to compete with the vicious little starlings.  One of the feeders holds black oil sunflower seeds (chickadees and juncos and nuthatches), one holds millet (sparrows), one has shelled peanuts and sunflower seeds (everyone likes this one), one is a suet/fruit mixture (woodpeckers), and one is a hanging bag with thistle seeds (finches).

We also decided to get a little birdhouse (in your soul) and some nesting materials to help the little birdie mammas protect their babies and hopefully raise them nearby where we can peek in on them.  This is specifically why I was hoping for sunshine today because the expert at the wild bird supply store told us that it is important to place the birdhouse in a place where it would get morning sun to warm the little eggs, but afternoon shade so the house wouldn't overheat.  I am on a search for the perfect spot that is safe from cats, raccoons and snakes - and also gets the right kind of sunshine.  However, without much sun in the sky today I'm finding it difficult to figure out where that place is.  The birdhouse project may have to wait.  I wish I could give the birds the house and a hammer and some nails and let them put it where they want it.

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