Cabin Ramblings

This white-breasted nuthatch is one of my regular feeder visitors. I'm working on getting closer to the feeder when I take my photos--so they will be better. Some of the birds don't much mind or notice when I'm out there with the camera--chickadees, the nuthatch, sometimes the titmice. The red-bellied woodpecker and the cardinals are much more shy.

Last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I noticed that it was lighter in the cabin than it usually is. At first I thought I'd left a light on upstairs, so I checked but that wasn't it. Then I realized the extra light was simply that many of the tree leaves have fallen, which means more of the light from the night sky shines in through the windows. I'd forgotten how much lighter it is in the cabin in the winter.

For those of you interested in things astronomical, you might try to look for Comet Swan in the western sky after dark. It's now visible with the naked eye in the keystone of the constellation Hercules. It's faded a bit in the last day or so but is still visible with binoculars and/or telescope. It's been too cloudy here to see it but others may have more luck.