Have the winter doldrums taken hold over your household? Are the kids whining that there's nothing to do? Could be they just need a purpose -- a job, of sorts. Here's something that will help them feel like they're contributing to something bigger than themselves:

The Great Backyard Bird Count!  

This annual four-day event "engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent."

From the website:

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!

1. Plan to count birds for at least 15 minutes during February 15–18, 2008. Count birds at as many places and on as many days as you like—just keep a separate list of counts for each day and/or location.

2. Count the greatest number of individuals of each species that you see together at any one time, and write it down. (You can get regional bird checklists here.)

3. Enter your results through our web page.

Speaking of birds, I just heard some Canada geese flying over our house (yes, heard -- the noisy things). To me, they're one of the harbingers of spring, as I never see (or hear) them around here in the winter (which we're still smack in the middle of, though the temps have been pretty mild). We live just a couple of blocks up from a small lake, which these geese call home for the spring and summer months. Since they're back so soon, maybe they know something we don't . . . an early spring, perhaps? That would be nice.

Have fun with the bird count! If you participate, let me know what birds you see at your house (and what part of the country you're in, if you're comfortable with sharing that).