When the news is grim (and, really, in my lifetime I don’t know that the news has been any grimmer than it has been these last few days), I do best if I can get outside. And preferably outside in my garden. So yesterday morning, I took advantage of the “January Thaw” to do an extensive walk-about in my garden as I filled up my birdfeeders. (JoJo – who loves the snow – sought the remaining piles of rapidly melting snow for a bit of a lie down. She loves to just lay out there in a snow pile. . . )

We have quite a wildlife refuge in our garden all year long. We work extra hard to provide food, water, and cover for birds and other wildlife. I try to provide sustenance for all my garden friends by creating some . . .  balance. I don’t like food-hog squirrels eating ALL the seeds I put out for my bird friends, for example, but I also know my squirrel friends need to eat, too. So I have one big feeder with a “regular” seed mix and one big feeder with “hot pepper” seed mix. (Both of those feeders are squirrel-proof. And they both work! But the squirrels can still knock some “regular” seeds to the ground for a meal. But they won’t eat the pepper-y seed.) I also have a peanut feeder (which my gang of blue jays will clear out in under 30 minutes . . . ) and two double-suet feeders. In the winter, I need to refill everything frequently. And I do. Because I love to watch the birds and other creatures in my garden . . . in every season.

Water is really important for birds and wildlife, too, of course. But it’s often not available in the winter in my corner of the world. My ponds and regular birdbaths freeze over (although they’ve thawed this week, they’ll be frozen again by the tomorrow), taking away my birds’ most reliable sources of water. So when the weather turns cold in the fall, I put out a heated “dog dish” (seriously; it is a dog dish) and keep it filled with water all winter long. It works! It makes me so happy to see the birds (and squirrels) drinking from the dog dish. Sometimes, they even take baths there. And I often find birds just hanging out on the rim . . .  relaxing like it’s a spa and they’re lounging in a sauna.

My garden also provides a lot of “natural” food for my bird and wildlife friends. We have several berry-producing trees and shrubs, for example. We have a huge flock of robins that love my hawthorn tree (berries for all!). I don’t cut back my perennials or grasses in the fall, and I see finches foraging seeds all winter long. And the squirrels (and the deer) love to find my fall pumpkins, which I leave out for them to nibble on in the cold months.

Tom and I both find much solace . . . watching “our” birds and laughing at the squirrels and spying bunnies and possums and . . . hawks. (Our garden attracts hawks, too. Because we attract so many songbirds and small creatures. That’s why cover is so important. The hawks usually leave empty-handed. But not always. Circle of life yada-yada.)

I hope you can find some pieces of joy and moments of solace in these days of turmoil. (If you don’t feed the birds already, I highly recommend it.)

(If you’re wondering about that mess-of-a-broken-birdfeeder on the ground in that top photo there? Well. It IS a mess-of-a-broken-birdfeeder on the ground. We put peanuts and apples and carrots in it for the squirrels and possums. It’s ugly, but they seem to love it.)

Here’s a photo galley . . . of my time in the garden yesterday.