Venus

 I've got six bird feeders up in front of the windows.  The first is a normal tube feeder for sunflower seeds w/ perches next to the holes.  The more traditionally minded birds like to sit there, take out a seed, worry the hull off, to get at the inner yummy seed.  The second feeder is a wire box shape to hold suet bricks.  It brings in the woodpeckers and occasional chickadee.  Next to that is a tray feeder.  This is the fav of all of the birds.  It has a mesh bottom to let water out and birds as large as mourning doves eat from it.  Then there is another tube feeder.  I fill this one w/ hulled sunflower seeds.  Quick food source on these cold mornings.  I also have a thistle feeder.  It's a tighter mesh to keep in the tiny seeds.  It kinda languished last year.  The goldfinches didn't want to bother w/ thistle seeds when there were sunflower seeds close by.  This year though the redpolls have come south and they love thistle seed.  Have had to refill it once this season and will soon need to refill it again.  The last feeder is one my sister sent me.  It's built to confound squirrels.  Any squirrel venturing this far from the woods is easy prey for the dog so I don't have any.  However, the feeder did survive a bear and is favored by the goldfinches.  I don't know why but they prefer the open double wire cage.  Maybe it makes them feel like they are in among the twigs and branches of a tree?  The dog and I go out and fill up all of the feeders every morning.  We go back inside and along w/ the cats watch the feeding frenzy that results.  Once the birds have their fill here they all take off.  I'm assuming to one of the neighbor's places to eat there too.  When it gets this frigid and snow covers all of the tall grasses, I'm pretty sure the little creatures are never fully sated.