If one hears a song sparrow singing his heart out, does that mean spring is just around the corner? No, it just probably means that the poor critter is confused by the 50 degree temperatures we've had for two days now. Yep, 50 degrees. I've hung clothes out to dry for two days. But spring is definitely not here yet because colder temperatures are soon to be upon us. Lows dipping down to 11 degrees F. That poor sparrow will be wondering who's playing tricks on him. I've been feeling closed in for a couple of days so I ventured out for a bird outing. It wasn't as much fun without my hubby along but I HAD to get out in the fresh air. Ack, I can't be having cabin fever already, can I? Sigh. Afraid so. The house has been closed up for two months now. TWO MONTHS! Ohmigod. No. No. I just can't think about that right now. ACK! So, yes, it is probably cabin fever setting in. And I thought I was doing so well. It doesn't help to have a touch of Some Thing either right now. Let's just say that the bathroom trips haven't been pleasant and then as daylight begins to fade so do I. You know how when you have some kind of sickie thing going on how it always feels worse in the evening? Well, that's what I feel. Worse in the evening. Stomach unsettled and a teensy bit nauseated. There's nothing quite like being out in a brown, leafless meadow on a brilliant sunny day, seeing an expanse of blue shining pond in front of you, and feeling the cold wind gently whipping your hair in your face. The pond was filled with a gazillion geese and a million mallards. Oh, and one red-shouldered hawk. One feels like all is right with the world in a place like that. The heavy traffic streaming around the nature preserve almost doesn't register anymore. And you can forgive the two joggers who keep coming by and spooking the wildlife. Just feels great to be out there. Out of the house with the walls that close in. It just amazes me to see how much the cats do sleep. Now it's been said that dogs are related to bears but I think cats are the more likely culprit. You'd say that if you ever saw how much a cat sleeps. Our female cat, Kaboodle, has a penchant for finding new and interesting places to sleep. Today it was the basketfull of clothes. Bill's mock turtlenecks, no less, that he wears to work. But it wasn't her fault. I have a bad habit of folding clothes and then letting them sit around in clothes baskets for several days. Well, here was this basket in the dining room waiting to be unloaded. Bill said something yesterday about what a prime place for a cat to find to sleep so he moved the basket to the sewing room on top a chair thinking that no cat would leap all the way up there. How little he still underestimates our cats. That chair turned out to be in a prime sunny location and that's when Kaboodle decided it was a prime location for a nap. Especially since the big hog Dusky had taken the only other space in the sun in the computer room. We came back from buying a ton of birdseed to keep the house sparrows happy (seeing as how they are pretty much the only ones showing up at the feeder; and they aren't supposed to LIKE black oil sunflower seed!!!) and there Kaboodle was. Sitting high and comfy on the basket in the sun right on one of Bill's shirts and watching us as we hung up our coats in the closet. We don't usually disturb the cats wherever it is that they have decided to claim as this day's sleeping spot but Bill didn't want to spend the day having a coughing allergy fit because he was inhaling cat hairs at the office. So, he moved her off and moved the basket to our bedroom. Cats don't hold a grudge. She just sauntered out to the kitchen where I was and decided to check her food bowl to see if I had put anything else interesting in there. Of course, I hadn't. I did treat them both to some ham scraps at lunch, though.