Well, that's new.

There was a female downy woodpecker banging on the deck rails this morning. Didn't find anything, I hope -- she was in the area that's shaded by the rosebush, so it's more likely to get bugs than the rest of the deck.

That's *really* new...

J and I were watching a small flock of "mixed small birds" bathing in the birdbath and the rill and the shallows of the pond, and he said "they don't seem to feel very threatened". No sooner was the last word out of his mouth than Ji jumped out of the wildflower patch, aiming for the 'low' branch of the rowan tree, which is about 5 feet off the ground. The birdies scattered!