Feeding our color hunger

A Red-Bellied Woodpecker in Southbury, Conn. 

-- Photo by Thomas Hook.

We thirst for color in the winter, and many birds give it to us. That's a big reason that we set out bird feeders -- to feed our color hunger. Of course, in the process we also end up feeding the squirrels,  but they put on a manic show that can also help alleviate our seasonal affective disorder. And the ability of so many creatures to survive the brutality of winter may remind us that we, who have it so much easier, can do so too.