Donna Young

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Weather.com predicts rain.

The pine cone agrees.

Pine cones close when the air becomes moist to protect the seeds.

This must have been the year of the cardinals in my backyard. On my frequent trips in my backyard to do garden work or feed the birds, I occasionally came across a cardinal feather. They accumulated over the months and now I have a small collection. I do not keep feathers for long and soon [...]

Rose-breasted grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus
About the bird: mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov
These well-dressed birds frequent our feeder. They prefer the hopper feeder and they exhibit territorial behavior at the feeder. When the hopper feeder is empty, they will feed on the ground. Recently the hopper feeder was empty and there were at least 11 rose-breasted grosbeaks on the ground under [...]

I have not yet discovered which Crataegus my tree is. I found a website that has many images of pressed cuttings and there are many similar Crataegus varieties. My tree cutting looks similar to Crataegus angulata but it also looks similar to a few others as well. I will keep looking.

Update to American Goldfinch.
The male goldfinches in this area are now bright yellow except for their black and white wings, white under parts, and black mask. The females remain a duller color and they lack the black mask.
This image shows two male goldfinches.Occasionally I watch the goldfinches. They cluster around the bird feeders most of [...]