And the birds come and go.

When we moved here, it was winter. We had red-bellied woodpeckers and downy woodpeckers.

The next fall, northern flickers joined the line-up.

This fall, there is nary a flicker to be found. I haven’t seen one in months. But hairy woodpeckers, never a frequent visitor (I wasn’t even sure if I’d seen one for nearly a year, until I actually saw one and went “Oh, well, then, THAT’S what that looks like…”) are drummin’ out of the woodwork.

It’s sort of cool, really. I miss the flickers–they’re spectacular birds–but at the same time, if things keep coming and going, that means that there’s always the chance of a new bird showing up. I’ll move away long before I exhaust the birdwatching possibilities of the yard. And that’s pretty cool.