That little birdy looks mighty cold. I just love all of them.

Couldn't you find someone ~ perhaps a neighbor or a HS student, to tend to your feeder? I think if temp is not too hot, one replenishing should do it! If others around have feeders & garden blossoms they should be fine, IMHO. We are on similar zone ~ they'll be traveling back home in a few more weeks, you may have a few stopping by for a fill-ups! From what I read, they have a great memory for where great stops are, I'm sure they'll find their way again!

YESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is the hermit thrush!!!! (NOT EVEN LISTED in the MAssachusetts bird book which has 280 pages / 2 pages per bird, or about 140 birds) and he is NOT singing!!!(even though he is listed as having the most beautiful song of the songbirds of North America)-- he is just scrounging for food. Also, I appreciated the song sparrow ID, as well, because that helped identify yet another bird in the collection. So big THANKS to Jeanner (glorious photos!!!--what camera do you use?)and Kendra2 (such a cute pic of sparrow in the snow!) for helping me out. I'm just thrilled to have a Vermonter (hermit thrush is the state bird of Vermont) visiting at our place.

I've redone two homes, two years apart. One had massive water damage due to a burst pipe on the second floor and the second one had massive damage from a tree fall that took out the roof in a storm also causing significant water damage. In both, the first thing I did was make an assessment of what wasn't working right in the house before and what I liked and wanted to retain. So many people when they have an insurance claim, build it exactly the way it was. To me it is an opportunity to fix things that didn't work well. Of the two houses, one I expected to put on the market in the next few years (so I focused on what was needed to make it marketable) the other I intended to keep as a second home, so I focused on making that one comfortable for my family. In both, I replaced all appliances rather than having the existing appliances removed and then re-installed. While the drywall was out I had the plumbing inspected and replaced anything that needed it. For the one I was keeping, I had the house rewired. For both, I removed old dated fluorescent drop ceilings with a tray ceiling and led lighting. Keep in mind how the old and new will blend. This may mean replacing and tackling things that weren't damaged to ensure that the finished home is unified. In the first one, the bathrooms weren't damaged so we left them. When it was time to sell, we had to update them because they looked so radically different from the rest of the house. Typically, insurance will allow you to use the funds to do something similar if you pay the difference and get their permission ahead of time. In the second house we had damage to the external structure, and they allowed funds to rebuild and repaint the wood siding. Instead, I used the funds allocated, plus some of my own, to do a flat tinted stucco which greatly improved the home's appearance while minimizing future maintenance. In the end, I was happy with the outcome of both homes. The first home sold for a premium because it was move in ready in an area where few homes are. The second home is now so comfortable and perfect for us, that we are considering moving there full time.