Is El Nino finally kicking in for us northerners? It’s closing in on 11 a.m., and here in Caledonia, Michigan, the temperature is around 37 degrees. With mid- to upper-thirties temps forecast through at least next Wednesday, we’re talking something more than just the usual January thaw.

Yaaaay! I like warm winter weather! I’m a fan of air that isn’t so cold it freezes my boogers, and it looks like that is what will be on the menu for a while. As I write, a steady layer of of stratocumulus has been streaming in from the west, chuffing in moisture, and the sun has been peering through rifts in the clouds often enough to brighten the January landscape.

The bird feeding station out on my balcony has been getting an increasing amount of commerce. The goldfinches are nonstop consumers at the mesh bag full of thistle seed; I’ve had up to at least fifteen of them at a time, pushing and shoving  like little gang bangers. The chickadees, which were the first to discover the bird feeders and for a while had the seed all to themselves, now have to put up with the unruly finches. Sparrows of course put in their appearance, and so do a solitary junco, tufted titmouse, and at times, a cardinal. A few days ago, a rosy breasted nuthatch took an interest in the suet bag, and he’s proved a match for the finches. And now this morning, a downy woodpecker discovered the suet! I’ve been waiting for that to happen, and now that it has, I’m elated. I suspect he–or she, I haven’t gotten close enough to inspect–will become another regular visitor at Bob’s Bird Bar & Grill.

Anyway, today is a warm day that presages many more warm days. So maybe this El Nino has finally decided to weigh in over the incursions of cold Canadian air that defined our December. I’m not ready to put on shorts and a T-shirt, but I will be wearing a smile when I step outside today.