Rain

Today is a rainy and dark gray day which is very good even though rainy winter days are usually depressing. We've been in an exceptional drought for months and the larger cities have imposed severe water restrictions. We are blessed with a deep well, however, and have not had problems with running out of water.

So, I'm grateful for the rain and can even deal with the dark grayness of the day especially since the cardinals are visiting the bird feeder this morning. I've been trying to get them used to me being on our back porch so that I can eventually get some photographs of them but they are very skittish. They fly into the branches of the nearby apply trees and wait for me to leave. It's times like this that I wish I had a better camera as the males make such bright spots in the bare branches against the lowering sky! Even with the dark clouds pressing in and the day sort of ominous and forbidding, the bright plumage of the male cardinals offer a cheery counterpoint guaranteed to raise your spirits!