To the editor:

Venturing out over crusty, slippery snow to fill the bird feeder was something I wasn’t willing to do so a kind friend has been filling it on Mondays and Fridays. 

Pretty soon it was emptied by Thursday morning so off to the bird house maker went my friend and ordered a feeder that would hold twenty pounds! The bird house maker said it couldn’t be done but three days later he called to say it was ready. 

A big success and I have two or three kinds of birds on it at one time and on a snowy day two red cardinals and one blue jay are a cheerful sight. Little sparrows and finches are on the deck below eating the spilled seeds but alas no “snow birds” or juncos. Do you remember when we would see them all winter? 

On the advice of the Audubon Sanctuary in Bristol I am going to fill the now-empty feeder with niger seed to see if I can get goldfinches to come as they don’t seem to like the black oil seed in the big feeder. 

 Suet and small dogs are not a good combination but there wasn’t anything I could do when the ferocious wind on top of my hill opened the wire cage and dumped a suet cake on the ground. Of course all the sparrows and finches love it but so does my little spaniel. Thank goodness he can only lick it and not chew off hunks but his appetite for dry food has fallen off. 

Well, brace yourself for another month of winter and hope for a milder March. 

Sidney Tynan

Little Compton