the old fence row

In gardening season,
I found buried several
pieces of the old barbed
wire that used to be the
fence row when this was
farmed land. 
The pieces stand by,
relieved of duty.

snow on Joe Pye Weed

The seedheads of Joe Pye Weed stand at the edge of the woods. When nibbling these seeds, the Goldfinches nearly disappear by blending in with the dried leaves and seed pods.  With a blanket of sticky snow, the pods became "cotton balls" overnight!

Pileated woodpeckers

Female: red crest on back half of head

Male: red crest on entire head plus red "moustache"

Every week we see a Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus in the woods, or on the suet feeders at the edge of the woods.  Today both a male and female were searching up and down the tree trunks for insects.  Each bird is 15 to 20" long, with a wingspan of 26 to 29".  A pair may stay together year around; they'll begin excavating a nesting hole in late March.