Bath Time

I didn't find any bugs on my bug walk today. I saw a couple of tiny things fly past the window when the temperature rose into the 40s, and the sun was out, but the sun went away by the time I got outside, and I didn't find any bugs at all. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

So why am I blogging? Because even though this blog is called The Bugs in the Backyard, it's not just about the bugs in the backyard, it's also about the other things living there. So, I've got something other than bugs to show you today.

It got very cold last night. We had rain on Saturday, so the birdbath was full. Last night, the birdbath froze.

 A pair of bluejays trying to drink from the birdbath. At this point the temperature was 34ºF, so slightly above freezing, and the birdbath is in the sun, so there was a little bit of melting along the edges, and I think the birds were able to get some water.

 This is not as sweet as it probably looks. I just took the picture during the wrong nanosecond to give you a better idea of what was happening...

 ... But it ended up like this.

 I guess this looked like a better spot for drinking.

Still not great.

A couple of hours later, when I was outside, it was all melted.

So, FYI, I will continue to do bug walks as long as the weather seems plausibly buggy, but I will only blog on days where I have something to show for it. At this point I am not going to bother if all I find are winter crane flies or other flies. It would have to be something interesting. And since today was in the low 40s and I found nothing, it's not looking good for more blogs this year. If I don't see you until spring (okay, that's not 100% likely), have a happy new year.