The Woodpeckers

It is snowing here in central Wisconsin. I suppose it beats tornadoes.

This is my Austrian black pine. It seems to be on attack from all sides. When little (about 4-foot tall), and pre-fence which makes for better neighbors, an ice scanty was dragged across it. Two years ago, it seems to have had some sort of insect infestation drawing woodpeckers. The horror!

I have since contemplated cutting it down while I could still manage the job myself.

This morning, while walking the boxer, the woodpeckers have returned. A quick pound-pound and a flurry of wings. Then a fluttering settling of wings and the peeking around the neighbor's boxelder, "Is she gone?"

I didn't capture them myself. The obvious answer was, "No, here she comes with that soul-stealing thingee! Fly!!"

Mugshot of perpetrator, dragged down from the internet. Shout-out to this birding blog by Cristina Arno.)

(Photo by Gina Mikel.)

So I saw a pair of these pileated woodpeckers. As much as I like to see these guys, I do hope they don't totally destroy the cambrium layer of my pine!