It’s the first week of February. The temperature is in the 50s — not normal for this time of year.

January was also very mild.

Winter is half over, and my snowblower is still covered.

While a few small ponds have had some ice on them, I haven’t heard of any central Indiana fishermen braving the thin ice.

Is this weather causing any changes in patterns of the local plants or animals?

A couple days ago, I noticed some of my wife’s perennials in front of the house have already sprouted and are about an inch tall.

I’m not sure what kind they are, but I call them No-Kill-’Ems.

We have dug them up, moved them, failed to cover them in the fall, and still they come back every year. They have large, light purple blooms, which the bees and butterflies love. They always start growing in very early spring, but not in mid-winter before.

I also noticed one of her rose bushes has started to grow. We cut them back in the fall and cover them with about six to eight inches of plant material to protect them.

I have crocus and tulips planted around my ornamental grass patch in the yard. I haven’t checked to see if they have started growing yet. Apparently, many plants think winter is over. In just a few days (Feb. 14), I will tap several maple trees. I don’t know how the lack of freezing weather will affect the sap run, but I will find out soon.

I haven’t noticed if the unusual temperature is affecting animals or not. I do know the bluejays are not hitting my whole peanuts as hard as normal. The suet feeders are staying full (except when the starlings come around).

I’m not seeing the variety of small birds this year. Perhaps they are still able to find seeds in the fields, which are not covered with snow.

Usually, I have a lot of cardinals, but this year I’ve seen just a few, usually in the early evening (which is normal for them).

Woodpeckers are eating the suet and the peanuts, but again, not as much as normal.

I am aware of a couple of unusual bird sightings. I’m not sure if weather has anything to do with it, but thought I would mention it.

One of my readers sends me interesting photos of outdoor topics. Recently, she sent me a picture of a bird on the ground next to a large carcass of some kind.

The bird was obviously a hawk of some type. From the orange/reddish tail, I figured it was a red-tailed hawk. It also had large white legs. But on its back, there were numerous large white patches. I had never seen this marking before, so I took the picture to Scott at Seedy Sally’s, my local ID expert. He agreed it was probably a red-tail with unusual white spots.

Another bird sighting took place at my feeder.

I think it was early December, and an unusual bird was eating from my suet feeder. It was definitely something I had never seen before. I grabbed my phone and started taking pictures. The bird was around most of the day, all of the following day and part of the next. Then, I never saw it again.

I headed for Pendleton after the first sighting, stopped at Seedy Sally’s and showed the pictures to Scott. He immediately said he thought he knew what it was, but wanted to do some checking. About a minute later, he showed me a photo in one of his ID books and asked if the picture looked like my bird. It did.

The bird was a female western tanager. Scott said the last reported sighting of that bird that he knew of in this area was 20 years ago. It is usually found in the far western U.S. in conifer forests and high mountains. Scott told me to enjoy watching it because it would be gone in a day or two. He was right. Was the bird migrating south and headed east instead? Whatever the reason, we had her company for a couple days.

I haven’t noticed any other unusual behavior in local wildlife yet. But then, I don’t get out in the woods and fields as often anymore. Perhaps the critters are just enjoying not having to fight for survival as hard this winter. At least, not yet.

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

New to Christmas in Pendleton this year is a cookie-baking contest.

To participate, people must drop off two to three dozen cookies at the Pendleton Business Association booth, located at the corner of State Street and Pendleton Avenue, by 3 p.m. on event day, Nov. 9.

Three judges — all members of the PBA — will determine the top three winners based on taste and appearance.

Leftover cookies will be brought to Falls Park later that day to serve with hot chocolate during the Christmas tree lighting ceremony, which is set for 6 p.m.

[sc:pullout-text-end]