ICICLES

Looking out my kitchen window I could see the yard was still covered in a blanket of snow. I looked over at my son Alex. “I better get out there and fill those bird feeders.” I went over to the boot tray to get my rain boots. “Those poor guys must be starving.”

I grabbed my coat and went out on the porch to get the container that held the bird seed.

“Be careful!” Alex called from the back door. “There’s a lot of ice.”

I gingerly made my way down the unshoveled steps with my container of bird seed swinging by my side. I was barely braking through the icy crust of snow as I made my way to the feeders. Taking one of the feeders down I noticed it was encrusted in ice. I began tapping it with the bird seed scooper but it didn’t even crack the ice. I reached over to the other feeder and saw that it was the same. I looked back at Alex. “We have a problem!” I called.

“What?”

“Frozen solid!” I held up the feeder to make my point then hung it back on the Shepard hook and moved to the next feeder. “Nope, this one’s frozen, too!” I looked around at the birds, sitting on branches in the woods, watching me. “Sorry guys. I can’t fill the feeders but…” I scooped some bird seed out of the container and began tossing it on top of the snow. “This will have to do.” I said as I tossed several more scoops.

Turning around and heading back to the house I could hear the chirps and calls from the birds as they flocked to the seed covered snow. “You’re welcome!” I called over my shoulder.

I carefully made my way back up the steps and put the container down. Ducking under the eve of the porch I reached up and snapped an icicle off the gutter. “I don’t think I’ve seen this many icicles in years.” I held it out for Alex to see. “When I was a kid we’d break them off the house and lick them like Popsicle.” I looked closer at the icicle and could see small flicks of dirt in it and tossed it into the snow. “Seems kind of disgusting now.” I stamped the snow off my boots as I came inside.

Alex laughed. “It’s kind of like licking the inside of the gutter.”

“Yuck.” I kicked my boots off and hung my coat up in the closet.

Going back into the kitchen I looked over at Alex. “Are you in the mood for some hot chocolate?”

“Sure. That sounds good.”

I went into the cabinet to get the hot chocolate mix when I notice a suet package sitting on the shelf. “Oh, I forgot to put this out!” I unwrapped it and went to the back door.

“Aren’t you going to put a coat on?”

“Nah.” I stood by the door and Frisbee threw it into the back yard watching it slide on top of the ice until it stopped right in front of the bird bath. “Perfect!” I closed the door and saw Alex staring at me. “What?”

Alex pointed out the window. “The suet feeder doesn’t have any ice on it.”

I looked out the window and saw he was right. I shrugged my shoulders. “Oh well. I didn’t feel like getting all bundled up again.” I pointed out the window again at the birds that were now on top of the suet. “See. They found it.”