View From My Window

by Barb Compton
(Florida)

Our current house has more windows than anywhere we have ever lived. During the summer, a female cardinal nested in the camellia just outside my kitchen window, and we shared fellowship as I washed dishes. She watched me carefully but never seemed alarmed by my close proximity. After her eggs hatched and the nestlings could fly, the family moved to the back of the yard, but remained here where I see them on a daily basis. I continue to watch a variety of birds coming to a feeder that I can see from my kitchen.

We have numerous squirrels and birds, some times rabbits and a chipmunk that either share our property or visit with us sometimes. Sometimes in the evening, I see a raccoon or an opossum passing through. All are welcome as I enjoy nature watching. As I sit at my computer to write this, I also see the neighborhood cats slipping in to dine from the bowl of food I keep out for them.

It is interesting to see how many come, especially with the cold and white winter we have had. After each winter storm, we look out at all the various tracks crisscrossing the yard.

At the present time, many of the bushes and the cedars are green, but other trees are bare, except for the colorful birds that sit in them before visiting the feeders or the birdbath.

The cardinals (especially the males) remain colorful all year but the goldfinches that are drab during the winter months are getting their spring plumage and seem to be more colorful each day. All enjoy sitting in the camellias outside the laundry room, where they can bask in the moist warmth coming from the dryer vent.