The rain this week made the spruce trees so happy that all the new buds popped open sending a shower of pollen into the yard.  A fine yellow blanket covers everything, including my deck.

Pollen and I are not friends so when I took the broom to rid it from the deck, it fought back.  The result was swollen eyes and clogged sinuses.  I was definitely the loser in the battle.

This is why I love winter.  No allergy problems.  No mosquitoes.  No dandelion fuzz flying up my nose as I walk.  I miss my white, non-allergenic blanket of snow.  While I wait for it to return, I'm forced to witness the backyard happenings while sneezing and sniffling.

The hummingbirds are back and busy at the feeders.  I bought a new feeder that has a ring on it so the little beauties can perch while they feed; all the better for getting their photo.  

They are aggressive little things.  A blackbird got too close to a hummer nest and was probably surprised by the attack it encountered.  The hummingbird flew after it at top speed; right over my head.

Last night I walked into the kitchen to find a pileated woodpecker sitting on my deck railing.  It appeared to be marking its territory like a dog or a cat.  It rubbed its head on the railing as if leaving a scent.  When it was done, it flew into the middle of the yard to some log stumps.

The woodpecker was very entertaining.  It grabbed hold of a stump and tried to make friends with a beaver statue.  The wood pecker moved around the circumference of the log.  As it moved, it kept glancing up at the beaver.  It would move its bright red head to the left and to the right.  There was no response from the statue so the woodpecker took to the trees.

I can watch the backyard birds from the safety of the house where the pollen cannot enter.  As I watched the woodpecker last night, the bloomed out dandelions shook their heads and spewed more seeds over the grass.  It's time to mow again.  I may have to wear a hazmat suit.  Winter, where are you?