Well, I made it out there at 9:30 this morning to check on the Rufous, since
Laura said she wasn't able to get in.
Unfortunately, I decided to be clever -- so I drove my car from L'Enfant
Plaza over to Ripley. Great idea given the 26 degree weather and a windchill
from the 16 mph winds that made it feel like 11 degrees out there -- and the
fact that I hadn't brought a coat today (since I drove in).
Here's the unfortunate part. There is no public parking around the national
mall until 10:00. Around the mall I went. Back to the parking garage with
the car. If that little southern hummer could stand the wind chill without a
jacket, it was the least a Maine boy like me could do to follow suit.
Anyway, the long, cold walk to the feeder gave me great respect for the bird
and little respect for my own judgement.
End of story: Both feeder and bird were unthawed at the time of my
inspection at 9:30. Looks like someone else might have been there earlier as
well. The hummer was chattering as I left. I tried hard not to interpret
that as amusement on the bird's part as I shivered away...
-- Scott Michaud
Annandale, VA
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