This Week's Menu 4/18-4/24

Sunday, April 18- Saturday April 24

Sunday
Grill

Monday
Shepherd's Pie

Tuesday Make it Quick


Wednesday
Roast Chicken (homemade or Wonder Chicken), mashed potatoes, peas

Thursday Early Dinner
Slow Cooker Chicken and Tortilla Soup

Friday
Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato PAsta

Saturday
Bill's Choice

Signs of Spring Walk

A week or so ago we took The Outdoor Hour Signs of Spring Challenge. It was NO challenge at all! Signs of spring were everywhere, but we did use the notebook page to help us focus.

We hiked our Conservancy Center's nature trail with Mr. Bingley keeping us "safe" from "wild" animals--like the bluebirds. But not the ticks, I found out later...

This tree had a nest from last year (didn't ID the species) and a praying mantis egg case to hatch this spring. I love finding one of these and hatching it inside. Make sure the lid is on tight or you will wake up to a few hundred baby mantids crawling around your kitchen. Yes, it did happen.

MeiWei loves the goats they keep there. They start bleating when you're quite far off. It's supposed to be an early warning system, but she believes they are just so glad to see she's back. The kid was a wonderful surprise and loved the attention. It made a great sketching subject.

We checked our bluebird houses to find them infested (and I do mean infested) with House Sparrow nests. Two seemed abandoned; the eggs had slid below the bottom of the trashy nest and were stone cold, so we removed them and gathered the eggs for study. The third had a roosting mother. I will replace her eggs with these infertile ones to hopefully thwart her from adding to "the surplus population." (from Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol)

House Sparrow eggs. Note the greenish-blueish color and mottled brown spots. These are NOT bluebird eggs. If you think interfering with House Sparrow nests are unkind, read this: (warning contains some graphic pictures)

The cat is tasting the nest!

Those are some of our signs in this neck of the woods. How about yours?

Bird's -Eye View of the Week: Putting Some Spring In It!

   Oh, I'm SO trying to use anything to develop habits, habits, habits. This was an especial love of Charlotte Mason. If things are habits, everything is smooth and easy.   
   But, if I am not disciplined enough to do things habitually, how can I expect my DD to be habitual. (Note: this is not the same thing as being obsessive, compulsive or under some sort of legalistic pressure to be perfect.)
    So, this Weekly Wrap-up thing is a good example of a habit. It makes me focus, makes me feel accountable, and encourages me when I see that we have accomplished stuff this week. I might just shove this blog in front of my reveiwer at year's end!
    I have loosened up a good deal this term, maybe a little too much. Once you get out of a groove--in this case that dastardly winter--it's hard to get it back. Wasn't I talking about the need for habits?
     Now on to the Week That Was. I'll relate what might be the most interesting first for you homeschoolers out there. (Lots of links for books. Please don't think I'm making money off them. OK, about 2 cents. I'm just trying to make your life easier.)
     I have thought up an addition to the notebook pages designed for Pagoo at Homeschool Share . (If you want to try unit studies, lapbooking, or notebooking, this is a fantastic FREE resource!)
                           Mei will create a pull-out "paper tide pool" to extend out of her  Pagoo notebook. It will be along the lines of a lapbook with a long accordian section that will be made with blue folders and edged at the bottom with tan and rock pictures. Then she will color copies of the different tidepool creatures she learns about and giving information about them on the backs. They will be cut out, leaving a hinge to attach to the tide pool. When the reader looks at it, he can lift the flapped animal and learn more about it. MeiWei seems excited about this idea. I've begun making copies of the animals from the Peterson Coloring Book of Seashores. Can't wait to see how it turns out. If it's a success I will share it at Homeschool Share.


    This week we read from An Island Storyabout Henry IV. There were so many charcters, and such a complicated lineage thing going on that we had to draw family trees to keep track of who was the "real" heir to the throne. I learn a lot from this; it certainly wasn't covered in MY PS high school. And to think MeiWei is getting exposed in third grade. And she always remembers more than me!

     Mei completed Unit 28 in Math-U-See. This brings us to within TWO units of completing the Beta book. That alone excites me with evidence that we are getting near the end of the year! Because she struggles with word problems, I've been printing out extras from EdHelper.com . They have an awesome array of teacher helps like this, especially for math.  I've been using the Daily Word Problems for 3rd Grade and giving her just three or four a day since MUS already has her doing some. Some of the stuff she hasn't covered in MUS--multiplication--but we apply skip-counting which MUS HAS introduced and manage to arrive at the answer.
    We began Joan of Arc by Diane Stanley. Mei actually BEGGED to read it. I get so surprised and EXCITED when she shows such enthusiasm for subject matter that would be thought "too hard" or "uninteresting" to a third grader. Just goes to show what the kids ARE capable of!!
   We also finished The Wind in the Willows. What a lot of character study could go on with THAT book. It also paid off that we had read in The Burgess Animal Book about a lot of the animals depicted in that story.  We really understood what Ratty was thinking when he met the Norway Rat, for instance (dreaming of a life across the seas as told by a member of the rat family that has infested every continent habitated by man).  
     Finally we wrapped up our long-term appreciation of John Singer Sargent. (Read more about him here . ) Mei did a brief report on him, and surprised me a little by choosing "An Artist in His Studio" as one of her three favorite paintings by him. It's not particularly "pretty". When I inquired, she said it reminded her of her mommy. Awww. If only I HAD a studio!

Next week, I plan to move things around a bit in our schedule to get to the things that have been slipping by, like nature study. It's so beautiful this week that I'd be a fool to miss the opportunity.
     Hope it's nice where YOU are. Have a great next week!
Read links from others at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers !

This Week's Menu 4/4-4/10

Sunday, April 4-Saturday, April 10

Sunday Happy Easter!

Monday
Turkey Tetrazzini , zucchini (must be Ini Day)

Tuesday (no pioneers; dad out?)
Frozen What-Have-You

Wednesday
Chuck's Mac n Cheese

Thursday Early Meal
Italian Sausage Soup, garlic bread

Friday
Homemade Pizza

Saturday
Bill's Choice

Easter Blessings

One thing the weather has done for us these past couple holidays is to cooperate nicely for enhanced entertaining pleasure! First the White Christmas, now the Glorious Easter! Who could complain about 78 degrees with dry air and cloudless skies? The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, daffodils everwhere, birds singing the "Halleluah Chorus". I swear it!
After a moving morning service at our home church, we headed south to join Father R's side at his sister's. An egg hunt (just what IS the cut-off age?), a feast of grilled lamb and spiral sliced ham with lots of seasonal trimmings, and then pie, cookies, and candy (of course).
Lots of silly reminisciences followed with the grandparents STILL learning about secretive, ne'er-do-well exploits during their sons' childhoods.

Much hugging and kissing and talk of upcoming graduations and recitals and trips promising more good times ahead. Blessings indeed.

Bird's-Eye View of the Week: Shoveling Out Our School

We are still working at getting caught up after the snows and the concussion which so derailed our regularly scheduled programming.  But at this point I'm only about a week behind, and the best part is, I'm OK with it!

SOOO-
We have finished our selections of poet James Whitcombe Reily.  I'm going to miss "The Hoosier Poet". MeiWei loved hearing my attempt at reading poetry in the Mid-western twang that he invoked his works with through his unique spellings.
(This is the poetry book I still have from my childhood. Excellent! I don't know why this link calls it "MORE Poems" The title is just what the cover says.)

MeiWei completed Unit 27 of Math U See: Subtracting Money with Regrouping. She always says she hates math. I always counter with, "But you get A's most every time!" Now I've been pointing out that being good at math is a pre-requisite to the sciences, so if she wants to be a vet like she says, she better keep up the good work.  Today, I sided with her that she didn't have to LIKE it, but that what she was doing with arithmetic was laying a "good foundation", just like learning her phonics led to reading. Maybe that will strike a chord.

We're almost through The Wind in the Willows. We got really behind on that during the Snow-pocalypse, so this week I laid all other reading aside and just worked on that.  It is TOUGH reading. I cannot figure out what age range Kenneth Grahame had in mind when he wrote this "children's book". MeiWei is blessed, if I do say, to have it read aloud (and explained at times). I have a different voice for each of the characters and love doing a British accent whenever I have the opportunity. I like to think through the character when I choose a voice. For instance, I base Toad's voice on Hugh Laurie's interpretation of Bertie Wooster from the Masterpiece version of P.D. Wodehouse's "Jeeves and Wooster" because both characters are upper-crust, ding-dong, ne'er-do-wells. So, even though some of his descriptive passages weigh her down, she pleads with me to keep reading because "It's getting really interesting!"
(The illustrations in this version are spectacular. I find myself feasting on the detail.)


MeiWei wrote (narrated) an excellent book review of  The Little Duke. She LOVED this book, something I never would have guessed. Come on!:  boys, and knights, and castles, and 13th C Normandy? And the 19th C writing style? For a girl? But she would beg me to read more. (BTW, to be honest, not so in the beginning.) She said her most fav part was the Norman protectors fending off the French in the tower. Her least? When the little duke's dad, William "Longsword", is killed. Awwww.

She has put together her Ancient Egypt lapbook , and minus the cover, it looks great. She really gets into these lapbooks. I'm glad we have started incorporating them. Perfect for a reluctant writer and a great way to show off her knowledge. It will look impressive at the Closing Program night!

A couple of nice nature walks during a blessed streak of gorgeous weather pretty much rounded out the week for some Natural History.  We've kept our eyes open for the first flowers of spring--wildflowers that is--and today sniffed skunk cabbage. Not one of the better signs of spring, at least nasally.




  Lastly, blessings upon Meiwei's fatal animal attractions. Just after identifying the inevitability of a horse in her future to Father R, and neither of us knowing how to budget for that, along comes our neighbor, practically begging for Mei to take over riding their DD's horse while she is away at college for four years! She can even show the lovely, ribboned quarterhorse and all at NO COST!! Then an answer to prayer--a substitute for, Mr. Bingley, the (dis)obedience class drop-out. What is the replacement? The show trainer's own pure-bred CDX Belgian Sheepdog. . She can even enter her in dog shows! WOW!     That's about it. Things are definitely looking good for spring! Happy, blessed Easter!

Head on over to Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers to meet more like us!

The End is Here

Well, spring has definitively sprung. Yet, after such a winter, I look around and see-- instead of green grass, wide dry streets, and inviting decking-- ghosts of snowpiles, treachorous icy walkways, and walls of white. Just closing up the hot tub without risking a broken neck this evening was a wake-up to the reality that that dreadful season is over. May it Rest In Peace!!

This Week's Menu 3/21-3/27

March 21-March 27

Sunday Home from W'burg Bill's Choice
Tortellini with sausage, salad
Monday
Fried Ham, applesauce, augratin potatoes
Tuesday Everyone Out
 Senate Bean Soup, Honey Cornbread

Wednesday
Homemade "Shake n Bake Chicken", risotto, salad

Ingredients:
3 pounds chicken, cut into pieces
 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Mix flour, salt, paprika, sage and pepper together in a bag. Add chicken parts in a bag and shake until well coated.

Melt butter/margarine in a 9x13 inch baking dish in the preheated oven. Place chicken in the baking dish skin side down and bake for 20 minutes. Turn pieces and bake another 20 minutes until tender and juices run clear.

Thursday Make it Quick
Leftover Senate Bean Soup, bread

Friday
Ham and Asparagus Fettucine , salad or green beans

Saturday
Bill's Choice (I hope it's fish)

This Week's Menu 4/11-4/17

Sunday, April 11-Saturday April 17

Sunday Breakfast for Dinner
Pancakes and Sausage, chunky applesauce

Monday
Chicken with Asparagus and Roasted Red Peppers

Tuesday Everyone Out
Spinach Tortellini Soup,  bread sticks

Wednesday
Ginger Beef Stir-fry, rice

Thursday Early meal
Frozen Pizza

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Bill's Choice

This Week's Menu 3/28-4/3

Sunday, March 28-Saturday, April 3

Sunday Breakfast for Dinner (Palm Sunday)
Pancakes or Waffles and Fried Ham, applesauce or stewed apples

Monday
Whole Roast Chicken (either Weis Wonder Chicken or homemade in crock), rice, beans or asparagus

Tuesday Make it Quick
Chili, cornbread

Wednesday
Slowcooked Kielbasa in applesauce or kraut , baked beans

Thursday Early Meal
Chicken Tetrazzini , salad
Friday
Leftovers

Saturday My Day at the Spa!!!!!!!!!!
Bill's Choice

PS (Tomorrow is Easter! What to bring??)

This Week's Menu 3/14-3/20

Sunday Tai is Moving into Her Own Apartment!
We'll bring this to eat w/ no cooking to do, except a little microwaving.
Slowcooker Meatballs in Peanut Curry Sauce, sticky rice, steamed broccoli

Monday
Ham 'n' Cola (crockpot), canned sweet potatoes, peas
(sort of like  Maple ham )

Tuesday  Everyone's Out Night
Frozen whatever

Wednesday  St Patrick's Day
Lamb Chops, steamed kale, roasted potatoes, Some silly green dessert.

Thursday Early Meal
Pasta with home-made sauce, broccoli or salad, garlic bread (in freezer)

Friday: Drive to Williamsburg

Saturday: Williamsburg: Dinner with inlaws. Bring something!

Sunday: Return from Williamsburg
Leftover Baked Ham

The Truth about Robins

And you thought spring was just around the corner. Those  robins are as deceptive as an "As Seen on TV" product! The following proves it:

"Robins: Harbingers of Spring?"

Signs of Spring. Kind of.

The snow is still everywhere , but has decidedly retreated. Whenever we pass a bit of turf, we yell, "Grass!" The walls of plowing that gave our driveway a tunnel effect have now flattened to almost nothing. You still can't find the entrances to parking lots easily, landmarks are obscured, and crossing a mounded median half-blinded still takes guts, but it's manageable.
The retreating snow, gray and dingy, now reveals the war wounds the landscape has received. Lawns bordering neighborhood streets are maimed by the gouges of snowplows. Whole sections of curb are reduced to chunks of gravel. Mailposts everywhere are bent like matchsticks. Mailboxes themselves are reattached with whatever is at hand: rope, duct tape, Christmas lights. One enterprising neighbor created a whole new delivery system with a plastic snaplid shoebox stuck to a broomstick. The ugly side of a snowfall is made known.
But for us, there was indeed a welcome result of the melt-off. While walking the dog past MeiWei's friend's house, a round, blue, bucket-like shape was rearing. Looking closer, I saw the Ultimate Sign of Spring: The Boot!!!
Yes, the boot that Meiwei stepped right out of at the height of some blizzard or other two weeks before had emerged, sodden and encrusted but still
more beautiful than a crocus. Surely spring must be on its way!

No Manliness, PLEASE

Father R is probably sitting in the 6-12" zone, but may be as far north as the 1-2 FEET zone. Not to mention hurricane-force winds, downed trees and closed highways. The challenge now is convincing him he does not have to prove his manhood by attempting to come home in this.
Please, Father R, wherever you are, enjoy the hotel hot tub and STAY PUT!!!!!

AccuWeather.com - Weather News Snow Map for the Northeast Blizzard or "Snowicane"

Snow-icane

So there's this monstrous storm building up in Texas and heading for the Northeast. It seems so strange that it's not going to be taking us down for a beating, but attacking someone else instead. I almost feel cheated on. Now I know winter has driven us crazy.
Nonetheless, we are being included because Father R is at a conference in NJ where they are predicted to get 6-12". Natch he drove the less-war-worthy sedan when he could've taken on Ma Nature in his 4-wheel drive pickup tank. It may not have looked very professional at the meetings, but he'd have had the last laugh.
Here's the map:

Snow-verload, part 2

Back at home, we were prepared but facing new challenges. The lights went out temporarily and we thanked God and Father R that we had a generator. We kept in frequent contact with my parents an hour away. Father R had brought in supplies while in their neck on Monday so we knew they were supplied.
    I tried to maintain some routine in MeiWei's life. We couldn't afford to keep taking snow days along with the school system (who will be going until July it seems). While she worked on a map of--no kidding--Hawaii, she giggled about getting wet. "I knew it couldn't be rain because it's snowing!"
   I looked up and found drops coming from the ceiling.  Father R was concerned, but was busy with the plow.  When all was quiet and I was making lunch, I was alerted to a tapping sound nearby. Now the drips were coming from the middle of the room.   Snow piling up on the balcony over head was blocked and melting into the house!  First one, then two, then three pots were lined up on the floor. Father R came in and immediately headed for a ladder and a shovel. I tried to squelch the idea of going up on a ladder in a blizzard, but he  wouldn't be stopped. Thankfully, he got down the offending blockage  without harm and the leaking stopped.
    The doors on all sides began to be blocked and finding a way for the dog to relieve himself presented a new challenge. Dad R had shoveled a path early on but it had filled up. And opening the slider onto the deck brought in snow-filled gusts.
   The front door, protected in part by the porch roof, provided the only means of "escape" for the dog who still had to wade around ankle deep for a spot and ended up choosing the doormat.
     We expected the snow and wind to let up by nightfall, but it maintained the same pace. The radar showed us to be on the southern edge of a rotating ball of clouds spinning in place over the Mid-Atlantic.  We had played the board games we bought in prep for more cabin fever, had dinner, talked and read weather news until there was nothing left to talk or read about.
   Then Dad got the idea.
    He "double-dog dared" MeiWei to walk all the way out to the "potty patch" that he had just dug in the yard for the dog---in bare feet.   For a piece of chocolate.  And she agreed if he would do it too.  And he did. So Tai and I laughed and grabbed cameras and watched their Polar Bear Stroll.
    Then Tai was dared and she did it. And then MeiWei went out three more times. And I didn't and was accused of being a "wooss" and I agreed to that.
    And it snowed for another hour after everyone went to bed.
    And Baltimore has a new all-time, since 1884, record of total yearly snowfall of 74.5 inches. And it's only mid-February.

Snow-verload, part 1

The rumors became fact. Accuweather.com proved worthy of its name. First eight inches, no ten-twelve inches...no, 18-20...oh, we'll just have to see what we end up with but it'll be really bad, ok?
Act I was as you would expect from a first act, rather fun and exciting, a nice introduction to the play.
Act II is when the plot turns sour. And so did this storm.

Winter Storm Warnings on Tuesday turned to Blizzard Warnings on Wednesday until 7 pm. Those were later extended to 10 pm. Snowfall estimates were ever-climbing and drift estimates were added as winds drove the snow sideways for hours.

The night before I stumbled over to the We-Is market to get more food to last another week (the amount of time we expected to be house-bound) plus, more importantly, some wine. (Had enough of the must-have bread and toilet paper.) I walked the aisles in a stress-induced daze. An enterprising person had shoved a "Snowplower for Hire" sign under the counter's glasstop.

DH got home early and again went into lock-down mode with wood, wood pellets, shovels, salt, and snowblower. It was becoming a routine that was not welcome.

The snow began, grudgingly it seemed, around mid-afternoon. By nightfall a few inches had collected. (Any other year, that would have been noteworthy alone, possibly cancelling school.)

Father Robin suggested that it was going to miss us; this was all we'd get.
But by bedtime, it picked up and snowed in earnest all the rest of the night. By morning there was around 6-8 inches. Then the storm truly began.
Snow came heavily all morning. At noon the wind also picked up, driving the snow sideways for most of the afternoon. White-outs were frequent.
At home, the girls and the dog went out to take video. Father R fired up Ol' Bess the Blower and headed out for another crawl up and down the driveway, harvesting the same "crop" he had spent hours on two days earlier. He found where the dog had relieved himself and blew it to smithereens over a bank.

Unlike the miraculous road conditions the county maintained in Act I, this time, the only thing going by were plows. And not often. By late in the day, even they had been called off the roads because of hazardous conditions.

You know it's getting bad when the plows get stuck.

Snow My Gosh

It began Friday, the 5th. Nobody could really imagine how it would end.


It was predicted to be a "ten-loafer". In this area, where an inch of snow can send the cities into paroxysms of panic, people's anxiety can be measured by how many loaves of bread they will stock up on. (Packages of toilet paper can be substituted.) Three loaves means school will be closed for a day. At five-loaves,a foot of snow and so on. People in the Mid-Atlantic must eat a lot of french toast before shoveling.
This storm prediction emptied shelves. Bread, toilet paper, coffee, booze, you name it. Whatever your priority.
At our house, I had placed a sizable order from Peapod home delivery. My DH had stocked wood in the garage and filled the snowblower's gas tank. We were ready for it. And it came. And we saw. And it conquered. Twenty-two inches piled up in our yard.

The birds went through five pounds of seed in 24 hours. The dog couldn't see over the swath cut by the snowblower. The cat was thrown outside in the morning by well-meaning MeiWei and crept under the deck where he remained throughout the storm. We worried he would be buried alive. (He surfaced at dusk.)

Tai escorted MeiWei to her friend's house to sleepover. The snow was knee deep and took them twenty minutes to walk to the next house a couple acres away.
While playing there, Mei got her boot stuck in a snowbank, pulled out her foot and ran inside in her sock. Upon returning, no one could find the boot. The plow had been through since, completing the burial. We were some of the two dozen exhausted customers at Wally World the next day--one of the few places even open--where we searched frantically for replacements.

Then we began hearing rumors of another storm coming.

This Week's Menu (2/8-2/14)

Monday
Leftover BBQ from Super Bowl, baked beans, corn

Tuesday Soup Night(Pioneer Girls, Bill late)
Kansas City Steak Soup

Wednesday Crock-Pot Night
Vietnamese Roasted Chicken supposed to taste like Pho, which Tai has been raving about to us. Rice or buckwheat noodles, steamed broccoli

Going to the Lake for President's Weekend!!
Thursday (Late arrival)
Spaghetti and Meatballs (pre-made frozen), crusty bread, salad.

Friday (Cook it Slow and Play All Day)
Crockpot Ham 'n' Cola , sweet potatoes also in crock, sugar snap peas (frozen)

Saturday
Bill's Choice or eat at club

Sunday
Ham and Asparagus Fettucine , glazed carrots (frozen), salad

Our Little Snowstorm So Far

Yes, I'm up at this hour ( 4 am). I was shocked awake at how much had fallen since 10 pm. At bedtime I had recorded about 6 inches. Not considered much anymore as our area has received so many snowstorms of late.


The literal wakeup call is easily 2 feet. (I can tell by the almost covered birdbath) Confirmed by http://www.noaa.gov/:

>>....SELECTED STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL IN INCHES FROM 700 AM EST THU FEB

04 THROUGH 400 AM EST SAT FEB 06...:

..MARYLAND...

ELLICOTT CITY 22.5 << (We dubiously are honored with the highest amounts by far for the BAlt/ Wash area---though maybe the other reporters simply don't want to get out of bed.)



And then I went to http://www.noaa.gov/ and found this: Scroll to bottom.

>>THE SURFACE LOW ALONG THE MID ATLANTIC COAST IS FORECAST TO

CONTINUE TO DEEPEN THIS MORNING WHILE ITS FORWARD SPEED SLOWS.

THIS LOW IS FORECAST TO MOVE ONLY SLOWLY EAST NORTHEASTWARD

SATURDAY OFF THE MID ATLANTIC COAST AND THEN BEGIN TO ACCELERATE

EASTWARD SATURDAY EVENING INTO THE WESTERN ATLANTIC. HEAVY SNOWS

WILL CONTINUE THIS MORNING OVER LARGE PORTIONS OF THE MID

ATLANTIC...WITH BLIZZARD CONDITIONS OVER PORTIONS OF CENTRAL TO

NORTHERN MARYLAND...EASTWARD ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE DELMARVA

PENINSULA AND INTO COASTAL SOUTHEASTERN NEW JERSEY. ADDITIONAL


SNOW TOTALS OF A FOOT ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE MID


ATLANTIC...BRINGING STORM TOTALS TO 18-36 INCHES. SNOW ACROSS THE

OHIO VALLEY REGION WILL BEGIN TO DIMINISH THIS MORNING WITH ONLY A

FEW ADDITIONAL INCHES EXPECTED.<<

Well, well.

Keeping the Feathered Friends Happy

   I've been diligently feeding the birds this winter what with all the snow that makes their foraging so difficult. Even if that means braving snow and ice and temps in the teens to fill the feeders. I love to sit in my sunroom and watch their happy antics as they vie for their spaces at the feeders. It cheers up an otherwise drab day.
   I keep several feeders going at the same time: a tube feeder for sunflower, two tubes for thistle, and two larger vertical mesh-sided feeders that hold five and ten pounds respectively. Plus some suet feeders. The only seed I use is black oil sunflower. Anything else is a waste of money IMHO.

    Disgusted with the amount of mess that blackoil in the hull makes by the spring (shovel fulls under the feeders), I switched some feeders to hulless. It's amazing the increased velocity that the birds will down that seed! And how they will show preference to it! But it makes sense. Eating hullesss saves them vital calories that are burned pecking the meat out of seeds in the shell.

    But the voracious avians are costing me over $25 a week in hulless, so I'm afraid they are going to have to put up with more shelling just to slow things down.  All things in moderation, guys.

   I also learned from my friendly neighborhood bird store that I shouldn't be complacent about providing water when there is snow all around. Naturally I figured the little guys were consuming plenty of fluids with all that precip attached to their feed. But the shopkeeper explained that it took additional calories to warm up that sunflower slushee, which would have been better spent on building up fat. So last year I added a high-quality bird bath heater. It cost more but the cheap ones usually die after one season.

    Another food source that I am giving up on is Niger thistle which is purported to attract finches. It does, true. But upon observation, the gold

and housefinches I have seek out the sunflower first. Even when the feeders are hung side-by-side. Couple that with the nightmare that sprouting thistle produces in my garden come summer---spine-encrusted plants that will put holes in your gloves---there seems no reason to purchase that costly stuff.

   So here comes another storm of, once again, blizzard proportions, and I have looked well to the ways of my (bird) household: everthing well-stocked outside and plenty more in the pantry. Bring on the storm. I'll be in the sunroom watching the show.