The birds are gone

[Dave]

I generally start the day by taking the old dog for a walk out to the end of the driveway. This morning I noticed that it was dead quiet. No ducks or geese flying up and down the river. No Redwing Blackbirds singing from the cattails along the irrigation canal. Only bird I heard in the half mile walk was a lone rooster pheasant crowing on the other side of the valley. It has probably been slowly happening but it was real noticeable this morning.