Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Who's Been Sleeping On Our Porch?

Yesterday it snowed all day. We wound up with about ten inches on top of a layer of ice. We didn't see the squirrels all day. I guess they stayed home in their snug little nests and played video games. The birds, on the other hand came by in large groups looking for food.
We put seed out several times during the day as it kept getting covered with fresh snow. All day we had bird visitors. At one time during the late afternoon we had six pairs of Cardinals eating peacefully together on the porch railing.
When I opened the blinds in the morning I noticed there were a number of doves sleeping on the chairs, on the dog bed and on the door mat. I'm sure the porch afforded them some shelter from the wind and being close to the house may have provided some heat.
The snow had drifted against the gate and it was impossible to open it. When we went to put out seed, we grabbed a rake to clear off part of the porch and deck.
Of course, my nosy buddies had to see what was going on and check out their surroundings.
First they had to see if the squirrels were on the deck.

No squirrels in sight, they came back to check out the porch.
Wow, this snow's a little deep here on the porch.
Somebody was here!




I wonder who it was!

They were up here, too.

I think there was more than one.

Maybe they're hiding back here.

Wow, look at that, you can see a lot of things from up here.

They're not here anymore.
How did they get up there?

 Let me see, too.

It's getting cold out here, Mom.

 Yum, this snow tastes pretty good.


 My feet are cold, can I go inside?
 Those sneaky squirrels and birds have some nerve sleeping on my porch.
 This is fun, can we stay out for a while?

The birds were back this morning and will probably sleep on the porch till the snow melts. My fearless hunters are still looking for them.

20 comments:

SissySees said...

LOVE the photos. The Knight witnessed - sans camera, darn it! - the girls go racing out one morning last week. Clearly, someone's nose mis-fired, because as they sprinted down the deck stairs, the squirrel scurried down after THEM. He laughed for two days about that.

Barbara said...

Too sweet! Snowy faces are so cute!

LizzieJane said...

My goodness you did get quite some snow. I see the pups were having a good time in that deep snow. I envy you for having cardinals. We don't have them here and I miss seeing them.
Stay warm.
x

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

Hey Sue!! Boy, nothing gets past your crew does it?? It looks like they had a great time 'playing detective!'

by the way, I've had the same issue with snow clumping/balling up on our Wheaten this year--Is there a trick to getting it to come off their coats easily??

Kristine said...

It's nice that you feed the birds like that. They must be struggling with all the snow. I'd love to do it myself but my dog would eat it all. Yes thinks bird seed is an extra-special treat.

Great photos!

Dawn said...

Love those snow faces!:)

Two French Bulldogs said...

We love seeing pictures of all that beautiful snow. Great lookout tower you got there. Those tree rats weren't trespassing were they? Keep an eye out for them. Stay warm
Benny & Lily

gMarie said...

those are great photos! Love Fudge climbing up and around to see what he can see!

Love Chan's comment. I have a similar - without camera story. Beau was laying on his hill in the sun and the girls where in the house with me. This was pre-dog-door days and the slider was wide open. A squirrel come right onto the patio, stood there looking in at the sleeping girls, finally made some noise to wake them and ran off - with both girls in hot pursuit. Beau had no freakin' idea - even when the squirrel ran inches from his nose! g

Stella said...

Good snow story, Porties! How long do you think this stuff will last? Our birds are used to eating from feeders and lots of people keep them filled. But with you seldom snowed on folks, your birds are used to getting stuff off the ground. So good for you for feeding them. They do brighten up the winter! By the way, I read where Cardinals were coming into Minniesnowda to live, yay!

Kisses,
Stella

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

What deep snow. Good thing you have all the dogs to protect you from those critters.

There is currently a cyclone causing devastation in Queensland. Yesterday before it hit an Aboriginal man reported that all the birds were gone from the rainforests.....maybe being a bird brain isn't so bad.

XXXOOO Daisy, kendra & Bella

Dexter said...

I love that you have furniture on the porch even in the winter. That is so much more civilized than around here.

Slobbers,
Mango

Lapdog Creations said...

Wonderful photos!!! We had quite an army of birds out there this weekend too.

brooke said...

hahah I love all the snow faces! So much snow! Hope you all are staying warm!

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

It is so good to see pups who enjoy the snow as much as we do. With the bright sun today, we were out most of the day, even with the cold temps!!! Heavenly fun!!!

Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

Elaine Pritchard said...

Wonderful pictures....if your gang finds the overnight guests I wonder what they would do.

Marjie said...

OMG! There were clouds of snow behind the pups in that first running along the deck photo! It's nice that the birds were able to find refuge on your deck, because it helped the birds, and provided great amusement for the dogs!

♥I am Holly♥ said...

What nice photos!! Everyone looks like they had fun in the snow! It's great that the birds have a place to rest and eat in that weather. We love doves...we used to have families build nests every spring on our front porch! Lots of love, Debbie and Holly

Lola and also Franklin, too said...

Very good sniffvestigating, guys. Nothing's going to get past all of you. You all look great in the snow, too.

parlance said...

I'm sitting at my computer on a hot Australian evening, with a fan blowing on me. But for a moment there, as I read your blog, I felt a shiver.

Good luck with this cold, cold snow!

Janet said...

Just love those sweet, snowy faces!