Birds, Birds, and More Birds

A beautiful Spring day!  Everything is so very green, and the songbirds are out if full force!  I set out my hummingbird feeders on Friday morning but have yet to see or hear any hummers at them. But that certainly doesn't mean they aren't here - I've seen several already, just not at MY feeders... 

This morning I saw a pair of Goldfinches in the ash trees, and hurried to set out the finch feeders. It sure didn't take them long - after less than ten minutes there were FIVE of them feasting on the thistle seed!  

House Finches, Waxwings, Yellow Warblers, House Wrens, and others I have yet to learn songs for, are abundant all around me, and I love it!  Nothing is better than to sit outside on a beautiful, quiet Spring morning, and listen to the birds!

Fire & Water

It's been a crazy year!  After so many forest fires last summer - that lasted until the first snows finally settled in - over one million acres of forest and prairie burned. Ranchers lost hoards of livestock, and some lost their entire livelihoods. When the snow finally came, it was probably more welcomed than ever before, and there was a good snow pack. 

And now we have the worst flooding since anyone can remember. The rivers are doubled in size, and overflowing every low lying area withing their grasp. Two homes have been washed away, farms along the river have had to move their cattle and sheep to higher ground, hay fields are being choked out by torrents of water, fishing accesses - and even entire sections of rivers - are closed to the public. Rescue teams have already been called out for those foolish enough to even try to float the waters right now, and everyone is keeping an eye on the fast flowing torrents quickly approaching the underside of the bridges. 

My personal theory on this phenomena, is that in a typical Spring, even as the weather warms up, there is enough shade on the heavily timbered mountains to allow the snow to melt slowly. However, with entire mountainsides burned away, those areas are completely open to the harsh heat of the sun, and the snow is melting extremely fast. That, along with some very stormy weather and a higher that usual rainfall, is causing the rivers to swell beyond their capacity.  I could, of course, be entirely wrong - but it makes sense, doesn't it? 


But oh my stars, is it going to be a banner year for mosquitoes!

Day 4

I can honestly say that I am already sick of winter. We’ve already had a season’s worth of snow, and considerably lower temperatures than are typical for December. With January normally being our coldest month, I am definitely not looking forward to the next few weeks.

That being said, spring is only 74 days away! 

Day 2

Tuesday, January 02, 2018  

Another nice winter day; and the sun is trying to peek through. I love sunny winter days, and even made it out onto the porch for a short time to enjoy the fresh, clean air.  It seems warmer than the 12 degrees on the thermometer. Maybe it’s just that it’s been so cold lately that 12 degrees feels like a heat wave!

The deer were active last night; their tracks scatter everywhere around the yard, and there are signs they bedded down beneath the trees. Mouse trails wander across the top of the snow, and disappear beneath the clumps of yucca. The magpies are quiet today.

Signs of Significance: 77 days until Spring!

New Beginnings

Monday, January 1, 2018 

Hello 2018! 

What an amazing beginning to a new year.

I awoke at 2:30 in the morning and could not go back to sleep to save my life. So I got up, opened the back door and greeted the new year.  And what a view!  The full moon lit everything up so brightly, it was almost like daylight. This is the “Super Moon” - the “Wolf Moon” as some tribes called it. So named because this was the time of year wolves could be heard howling with hunger. 

The moonlight splashed over everything. I doubt even a mouse could move without being seen. The snow was unbroken and looked like marshmallow creme in the pasture. The air was cold, crisp and refreshing. To even take a breath filled my lungs with the a feeling of cleansing. The air was completely still; silent in the new year morning. Not even the owls were calling.

I stood there for what seemed like forever, but was probably one a few minutes. I was cold but didn’t want to close the door. To be witness to what Mother Nature provided, and to feel such a sense of freshness and renewal was almost overwhelming. I wish I would have thought to try and get a photo.

Here’s to a new year full of promise, adventure and possibilities - it’s going to be a good one!

 

Signs of Significance:

  Today there was ten more minutes of daylight that there was on the WinterSolstice!

   78 days until Spring!