Cop Car, I made the time to browse through the “Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America” just now, and I’m really confused.
We have large flocks of what we’ve always called black birds or starlings that visit us Spring and Fall, as they migrate. Occasionally they will like the food at the feeder so much that they stay for protracted periods of time.
I THINK that we have had European Starlings. I’m basing that on the fact that they have the oil-greenish tint to their feathers. The starlings have a yellow bill and are larger. The first summer red-wing blackbird is similar, but more drab. I’ll have to watch carefully when they return this year.
We have red-winged blackbirds, and from the pictures in the book, we must also have the Rusty blackbirds. They look similar to crows, but are half the size, very similar to the red-winged blackbird in size and behavior.
So, we probably don’t have any grackles. Have I set the record straight? I can’t remember which bird you objected to. *G*

I know, it’s been days since I posted.
Dear Husband has shared his wretched cold with Elegante Mother and me, and I think Son#2 may be coming down with it, too. A phrase from my childhood comes to mind……”I’m feeling meaner than a beaver”….about this cold. I’m sick of being sick, and desperately ready to feel better. I guess if I’m well enough to complain, I must be on my way to getting better. We can hope.
Arrangements for our son are still at the foremost of our minds. We’re gathering up lists of people to thank, and sharing pictures and mementos. Eventually, an executor will be assigned, and someone will have to close the condo and put it up for sale. I spent this morning surfing for guidance on how to write an appropriate thank you note following a funeral. I found bits and pieces of advice, but I’m open to suggestion. If you have a source that satisfies you on this subject, I hope you’ll share it with me.
My sis, over at Just My Opinion, has decided to learn from her daughters how to live a healthy life. I think she’s right. Be physically active, eat reasonably, and love life. Sounds like a plan, doesn’t it?
The weather is STILL crazy. It was fifty degrees yesterday, and tonight we are supposed to have rain. What a roller coaster we’ve been on. My perennials can’t make up their mind what’s going on, and I think I may loose all the potted plants that I’ve been trying to winter over in the garage. Time will tell.
Soup for dinner, I think….. Maybe a pot of minestrone. We’re still in the comfort food stage of this cold. In some ways we’ve been good, and in others, bad. Last night we had broiled salmon and asparagus, with buttered egg noodles and garlic bread. *G* It could be worse. I was surprised to find that I was hungry for dinner, and happy that I wasn’t so hungry that I overdid.
When I haven’t been sleeping, I’ve been working at changing the office files over from 2005 to 2006. I should have been doing it the first week of January, but my mind was with Dear Husband in Florida. I was lucky that I managed to keep the office running those days. So, each day, I do a bit more, and by the time the CPA’s assistant comes next week, I should be ready for her.
I have an idea for a new business: Delivery of comfort food for those who are too ill to cook, but not so ill that they can’t eat. Pizza just doesn’t make it when you have a cold, but soups, or comfort foods should be a hit. Comfort Catering. What do you think??
Gotta go. More filing to do. I hope you’re all well!