the cold has come

Seems the cold has come to stay. At least it looks like it outside. Very cloudy. Becoming colder and colder. It almost as if it is creeping into our house and hanging outside the windows. This morning a wren popped up on our deck railing and shouted her shrill chirp. It came as a surprise. She was puffed up and turning herself in all directions as she sounded , what seemed to be, her alarm. I thought I heard her say, "I'm telling you all to get ready! It's getting cold out here!" and then she was off to who -knows-where.

Wrens are kind of like that to me. They are they ones who make the most inconvenient nests, in the most remarkable places. Yet they are also the ones who like to be nosey. You can see them scratching through a flower bed or may be peeking out from under the deck. Who knows what they were doing in there. They take any old leftover fuzz they can find and place it in whatever spot they take a notion to nest in. Who hasn't opened their front door to find they have filled the wreath with a mass of twigs and down. I just love them. Guess I'm a lot like them. Not particularly neat. Always setting up shop on a whim, not always appropriately. I won't admit to being nosey, but I love a good scratching around in a flower bed. I am not however likely to try and make my home in a not-so-safe location. Old hats and shoes won 't do for me. But one thing I know, when a wren shouts out around here it's surely time to listen. I just hope I don't misunderstand her message. It's for certain, it is getting a lot colder.