Pine siskins have shown the last two days at Valhalla Acres Fiber Farm (our
"yard") on Flint Ridge in Hopewell Township, Muskingum County. They show up
nearly every year here, but rarely in such numbers. I'm guessing (an
educated guess) that there were twenty or so today, visiting both our
standard feeder and the tubes, both filled with black sunflower. By my
reading of this listserv, they seem to be everywhere in the state, and our
place is no exception.

A large flock of "blackbirds" were in the trees around the house/barn
complex this morning after dawn: approximately 300 birds with around 60 per
cent red-winged blackbirds and 40 per cent starlings. I saw no grackles or
rusties.

During a brief late-morning lull in the rain I took the short route (about
a mile) around the place. Bluebirds were singing a soft counterpoint to the
trilling of the red-winged blackbirds. Nice...

Steady light rain all day today. The mud is ubiquitous, but perhaps the
aquifer is fully recharged after the summer heat and drought. My concerns
about water supply are diminishing. No problem keeping the rain barrels
full, and the spring is flowing nicely.

Bob Evans
Geologist, etc.
Hopewell Township, Muskingum County

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