Welcome the Rain!

Our snow-pack, up in the mountains, is at a little over 100%, which is great.  But I certainly welcomed the rain that began to fall last night, and which has just begun, again.  Even with several inches more snow-fall than usual last month, we still need more precipitation.  It's been very windy, and the topsoil is extremely dry.  This light to moderate rainfall is wonderful - not enough to cause flooding, but enough to dampen and slowly penetrate the top strata of soil.  The farmers need this, livestock in pastures need it, and our wonderfully varied wildlife need it, too.
   Bertrando, our local male squirrel, has been eating Brazil nuts while perched on the top of his telephone pole this morning.  He left a few minutes ago, just before the rain began to fall.  I need to re-fill the bird feeder - the critters (birds and squirrels) have eaten half of the shelled sunflower seeds in just a couple of days.
   Friday, while walking Rosie in a treed residential area, I was amazed at the surround-sound calls of nuthatches.  I felt as if I was in the center of a flock numbering more than 50 - and they didn't stop singing for several minutes.  And even though the nuthatches have a very nasal meek-meek call, I could have easily been in heaven.  It was a fantastic, glorious symphony.
   Just sitting out on Lynn's deck the birdsong is almost overwhelming.  I can listen to robins, chickadees, flickers, woodpeckers, mourning doves, a multitude of sparrows, jays, magpies, warblers, buntings, blue birds, meadowlarks, a few owls, and juncos.  Add the sounds of squirrels, an occasional flight of ducks or geese overhead, and the sound of bees busily buzzing, and I think one has just about found perfection...