Not Exactly What We Hoped For

We spend the morning filling various bird-feeders with all kinds of seeds. Last night, my daughter won a basket in our school's "Basket Bingo" night. She put one ticket into the "Backyard Birds" themed basket, and twenty tickets into the "Cat Toys" themed one. With her whole heart, she wanted that cat basket.

But she won the Birds (which, upon further reflection, counts as Cat Toys).

This is no small basket. We put all the feeders out, including the special treats. We have four in the backyard and two in the front Weeping Cherry.

Now, we wait. We're all filled up with hope. Even the cats pace around the windows, waiting.

We anticipate them all: various sparrows, pine siskins, cardinals, tufted titmice, blue jays, nuthatches, doves, black-capped chickadees, finches, and many more. According to Penn State's research, some backyard feeders during a Pennsylvania winter have attracted 25 different species of birds.

I love that my daughter wanted one thing, but received something better (that happens to also entertain cats).