Wintertime friends

First of all, winter has returned to my neighborhood. These two pictures tell the story.




OK, we're officially in winter. Which raises a sore point.

The official state bird of Michigan (and nearby Wisconsin, for that matter) is the robin. Ah, the red, red robin who comes bob, bob, bobbin' along. Years back, Many states selected the robin as their state bird at the behest of organized schoolchildren (and their teachers, of course). Government in action. Squeaky wheel gets the grease, etc.

Well, they are pretty, and a harbinger of spring when you see them on your lawn, looking around for worms. And they're a welcome sight because ... they aren't around in winter.

Oh, no, not these guys. When it gets cold, the robin family is out of here. They're flying away to the south, where it's nice and warm in winter. Just like many of our residents. When the weather starts getting cold in fall and the first snowflakes fly, they're gone, too, off to warmer climes. "Brrr! I'm cold!" "OK, then, let's hit the road!" Of course, they're the ones who have the money to travel and stay where it's comfortable.

The rest of us ... here we are, in the cold, shoveling the snow and shivering and trying not to slip on the ice ... either while on foot or while driving. It's really not a lot of fun to drive in winter, you know. You do it because you have to. Like running to the store when it's cold but you need some stuff. Or making the famed pre-snowstorm shopping trip. When you're outside, it's just cold, and you don't want to waste time--you want to get to your destination as soon as you can.

But when you are out there, at least you're not along. There is a friendly voice out there with you, trying to endure till spring, just as you are.

"Chickchickachicka Dee-Dee-Dee! Chickachickachicka Dee-Dee-Dee!" The Chickachickas are high-pitched. The Dee-Dee-Dees are much lower. Here are some of the guys. They sang to me as I walked home from the office today.




They're our little winter friends, the black-capped chickadees, hanging on to branches and peeling paint at ridiculous angles--even upside down. They are small but stocky, like a lot of us are in winter, to better make our ways along in spite of the cold winds of winter.

The birds are related to the titmice and all the various species of birds known as tits. (I wouldn't kid you about tits.) When you go outside on a miserable gray winter day and you wonder if you are the only living creature outside, you hear "Chickachickachicka Dee-dee-dee," and you know that you're not the only one trying his best to make it through to winter and warmer times.

So I think the Legislature ought to get on the ball and name the black-capped chickadee as the official state bird of Michigan. (I see that Massachusetts, Maine and New Brunswick have already done that, and I bet their reasoning is much like mine: to honor a little bird that is tough and won't fly away when times get rough. Someone who will stick it out with us in winter.



I really appreciate that. Here's to you, guys!