As the fog lifted this morning and I headed out to tend to the AM animal husbandry chores, a bluebird sang incessantly, as if it were March 21. This continued for 40 minutes as the horses and sheep were fed and the horse barn cleaned. As I emerged from the horse barn, struggling and slogging through six inches of sticky, puddled mud with the manure cart, the contrast between the task at hand and the soundtrack could not have been more stark and ironic. Those who think the country life sounds great do not know what they are missing. Don't get me wrong, I laugh at such moments. I know that the mid-winter rains bring life. The salamanders are digging it, as are apparently the bluebirds. Bob Evans Geologist, etc. Hopewell Township, Muskingum County ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]