Hope is the thing with feathers...

   It may not look like spring around this old farmhouse but the birds know differently.  There seems to be an urgency about them that is hard to miss.  It may not look like spring but spring is fluttering in their tiny chests nonetheless..mine too!

   They are not looking at calendars or checking the weather forecast, they are simply responding to the whispers they feel more that hear.  It is time for building nests and finding a mate.

   Everyone has his own special seasonal rituals.  We respond in many ways the same as the tiny birds.  We just know it's time for some things.  I mentioned the spring ritual of housecleaning but I have another ritual I do every year when the sun begins to warm the days and the forsythia buds swell. 

One stop shopping!

   I put out my containers of nest building materials for the birds to use!   Bits of raffia, snippets of old yarn, and especially cast off wool from my neighbor's sheep are all good.  I fill a suet feeder and a recycled mesh bag with the raw materials any bird would love to use to construct a warm and comfy nest.

   This is pay back time.  My little feathered friends have cheered me all winter and were even featured on this blog.  I feel it is only fair I help them in their yearly ritual of nest building.  It's the least I can do.

   You might like to help your little friends too so here is a link to a site with some helpful tips -

Help the birds build their nests...