Cardinal...

....on watch! He was singing so beautifully this morning! Probably as happy as we all were that the snow melted away in the sunshine! I bought a bird feeder especially for the cardinals late last fall--they're too big to fit inside the squirrel proof feeders--so the new one has platforms on either side so they can perch. I put it up in early spring & the cardinals were using it for the first week, then nothing. I finally went and looked & it was totally empty. Three days in a row I filled it, (& it holds a LOT) wondering how on earth two cardinals could eat that much seed.  I figured (& asked our resident blip expert if it was possible) that it was a raccoon, and then last week Tom saw the culprit climbing the shepherd's hook and tipping the whole feeder upside down, emptied it out, then climbed back down to gorge itself on seeds! So I put the feeder away for the time being, as the raccoons can climb just about anything & the seed isn't cheap.  I doubt the cardinals will starve, but I like seeing them in my yard! The raccoons, not so much! :))