A squirrel, a hummingbird and a towhee walk into a bar...

On Saturday we had an amazingly beautiful day, which was a gift because usually by now we are huddling for warmth in the dank, pouring rain and watching the daily sunlight quotient dwindle at an alarming rate. Enrico took the dogs for a hike in the woods, and I stayed home in the peace and quiet.

As I was making my lunch, I looked out on the back patio, and you'd think our back yard was being used as the set for a Disney movie. A hummingbird flitted about the fuscia, extracting the last morsels of nectar from the remaining flowers. A squirrel dug industriously in one of my flower pots, either burying or retrieving something. And a striking bird that I eventually identified as a rufous-sided towhee was rummaging noisily in the dead leaves. I was able to identify this bird with the help of our bird book, which reported that in addition to having notable wing markings, the rufous-sided towhee "rummages noisily among the dead leaves."

No doubt, had the dogs been home, this happy nature scene would never have happened. They would never have allowed it. I stood at the window and admired the sunlight glinting off the hummingbird's pretty green feathers, and it was good.