Snow day!

It looked like there were three inches on the outdoor furniture, but on the concrete just enough to cover.  A gusty wind made it hard to tell whether snow was still falling or only blowing.  The wind kept the creek open.  North windows were glazed with sleet.  

The vivid color of the orioles enabled me to see them through the blowing snow.  The boss butterbutt joined an oriole on the snow capped suet.  A titmouse and a song sparrow checked the snow for fallen seeds.  A Carolina wren started with suet.  A male oriole wanted the same thing.  A goldfinch joined the house finches at the seeds and I realized it was smaller.  Bluebirds joined the party.  

Then starlings crashed it while crows watched from the trees.  I kept driving the starlings off but they soon came back.  Juncos appeared from wherever they've been hiding for weeks and joined white throats and a female cardinal in the snow.  A downy woodpecker ventured out for suet.  The brown thrasher huddled on a dogwood branch.  Robins also showed up, but that was because they were thirsty.  The mockingbird finally came to defend its food supply.  Pine warblers slipped in whenever they could.  A blue jay wondered whether there was any food for it since the barkbutter cup was full of snow.  I wondered if the suet would last the day. 

By lunch time some snow had melted and some had blown down.  There was blinding sunshine instead of gray overcast but the temperature stayed stubbornly in the 30s.  And plenty of snow remained.  The lake was empty of birds but mallards and a couple of female buffleheads were out on the creek.