birds

birds I have seen at or near my feeders in the past two days:

house finch
goldfinch
titmouse
junco
chickadee
nuthatch
mourning dove
brown creeper
blue jay
cardinal
downy woodpecker

My grandmother asked me the other day if my witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) was blooming yet.  No, not yet, I told her.  It's been very cold - it finally got above freezing today (34ºF).  Here are a couple of shots of the witch hazel as it looked yesterday.  In a few weeks the flower buds will pop into flowers.  I wrote about witch hazel a couple of months ago, when the fall-blooming ones (Hamamelis virginiana) were in flower - the one in my yard is a late-winter bloomer. 

Witch Hazel

 flower bud

 

leaf bud

And lest you think I am rushing spring, here is a picture of the ice on my teeny tiny waterfall...