Magpie Nursery Rhyme

"One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret 
Never to be told.
Eight for a wish,
Nine for a kiss,
Ten for a bird,
You must not miss."

Note the number of birds in the tree, though not the tenth I'd like to 'not miss':

A Magpie, about which this old nursery rhyme was originally written. (The above rhyme is the 'modern' version.) The Black-billed magpie's territory is further west, though they have been seen as far east as Iowa, so I'll keep watching and hoping.

I took the zoomed in photo of the blackbirds to see if they were the red-winged variety. The conk-la-ree, conk-la-ree of the red-wings is a sound I associate with spring.

No red-winged blackbirds for me, but Bud said there were many in the marsh north of the bridge at Lake McKinley when he took his walk/run this morning. (My photo of that wetland habitat is from June, 2016.) If I want to see/hear/photograph them, I'd better get up there soon. I know from childhood experiences once they start nesting, you don't want to get too close!

March is supposed to be the kite flying month, but I think it was too cold and snowy for kite flying. Today isn't bad, at least it is sunny, but all next week is supposed to be below average temps. I'm ready for April showers. We need the rain, and warmer temps, I hope!