Hostess with the mostess

Those crows are eying my new suet basket up in the apple tree.  They can hop up and grab a quick mouthful, but won't hang on and gobble like other birds.

I don't usually put suet out, so I'm a popular avian hostess right now with Scrub Jays, Northern Flickers and lots of other little birds that like a mouthful of fatty seed.  Also squirrels, of course, who are constantly into everything.  They don't actually eat suet, but pick out the goodies inside. 

"And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth’s dark breast
Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest."
 
~Percy Bysshe Shelley

I took a walk yesterday afternoon and low and behold, the first crocus were opening in a sunny bed across the street.  Ours aren't even up yet, but they have to push their heads through an extra layer of compost this year.  I hope all that organic matter gives the soil a boost this summer.  If I have to water less, that alone would be a big deal.  Time and patience will tell.

Well, it was cloudy and chilly all day Sunday, and we didn't think there was the chance of a snowball in you-know-where to see the Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse.  Then right at sunset, the skies miraculously cleared and the stars came out.

My iPhone camera doesn't do it justice-- this is a professional photograph taken down on Alki Beach. Just about 9 pm, when the eclipse was almost full, the clouds rolled back in and obscured the moon.  How lucky is that? It was the last total lunar eclipse of its kind anywhere in the world until 2021.