Small bird visit, home

The infamous Polar Vortex settled in overnight with a dusting of light snow and genuinely Arctic temperatures... well, for here, especially this over-mild winter. The maximum-minimum thermometer registered 3 degrees F. above zero at the daybreak turnaround, and no sooner had the sun crept over the horizon than the action got hot and heavy at the suet sack, as well as on the ground near it. These days, given the proclivity of our well-fed cats to at least try to hunt, I don't put out sunflower seeds, but as cold as the forecast has it, I scattered some food in a spot I thought would give the birds an easy view of any potential predators... and a sure escape route. One little visitor—I suspect a Junco, since they're abundant among the freeloaders—decided to live dangerously and come up to the kitchen door. Perhaps it had figured out that the cats were inside and the coast was clear. Maybe it was hoping for a place by the wood stove.