I love cold autumn days. I love the way the trees look against the gray clouds, the smell of wet leaves and watching to see what birds are blown in. Today it's blackbirds.

Behind the store this morning is a whole slew has just came in. It's mostly red-winged blackbirds out there but there are a good number of starlings mixed in as well. They're raiding the feeders and I don't mind so much because they'll move further south very quickly. They sound like they all just came home from an all night bender. Their song is not the cheery forceful "where are my keeeeeys" that we normally hear in the summer, but a very groggy and short "krees". I suppose migrating does that to a bird.

I'm even enjoying watching the crows. We had some cobs of corn show up in a bag that had been liberally chewed by mice. Rather than try to sell them, I tossed them behind the store. With the orange leaves, gray sky, yellow corn and black crows it's a wonderful Halloween scene. Although I know some of you don't like crows and think that all that's missing is a pumpkin being chucked at them.

We just had a whole new line of bird food blocks come in. This stuff is really good stuff, it's sunflower and pecans. The pecan smell is so strong I can smell. It smells really good. I wish I had more for breakfast now. Although, I'm off eating bird food...and this time I mean it. Really, I'm not going to sample the bird food any more. Certainly not less, just not any more.