Lisa and I had breakfast in the mountains this morning. There was an inch of fresh wet snow that squeaked underfoot. Willow ran rampant. Every track was the first of the day.
We heard the drumming of a Piliated Woodpecker. He was kind enough to pose for a photo and even followed us along on our walk. Willow tried to put the run on him without success. Why would he be bothered by a small, seemingly clumsy fur ball stuck on the ground?
Once the sun started to burn off the cloud the Pine Siskins and Chickadees started singing, jumping from branch to branch faster than my camera could follow.
The Ospreys are back. It is amazing how quickly they appear after the ice is off Lake Windermere. They are busy on their nests. Platforms are built on poles around the lake so the hawks won’t build nests on power poles. Many years ago, before the platforms, there were plenty of power outages and fried birds.
I raked the lawn yesterday and it has almost instantly started to green up. The rhubarb is starting to poke through. Soon we will be cursing the heat. But for now the sun feels good on our faces. Very fine day.
Palliser Pass 
Anonymous
Beautiful!
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underswansea
It’s always nice to see a spring snow.
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Jim R
Your picture of the Pileated sure outdoes mine. You could barely ID it in mine.
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underswansea
Thanks Jim. I got lucky. This one was intent on posing for me.
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mountaincoward
great woodpecker photo – I get one on my garden feeder quite often but it’s too far away from inside to get a photo so I’ve never managed. Your view of what birds think of the dog is probably very accurate 😉
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underswansea
Thanks Carol! I think birds are always laughing at us.
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Julie@frogpondfarm
Lovely post and photos Bob!
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underswansea
Thank you Julie!
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