Spring is springing

 

It is late morning here, the sun is shining, the birds are making lots of pretty and not so pretty noises, and it is going to be (pause for amazement here) hot today. Yes, hot. And tomorrow and Saturday are also scheduled to be high summer. Just not quite long enough to kill the black flies. I am sure I have mentioned these fine little guys in other posts, and so will spare you.

There are ten white trillium (trillia?) in the border of the lawn. They are small, compared to some years, but there their brave little white petals are. The deer did not chomp them, as I was afraid might have happened when they showed up late. At the beginning of the week, with the sun, every tree in range took a deep breath and pushed out leaves. I had to drive into town on Monday, and I swear I could see the pale green of new promises getting greener as I drove. And I am pleased to say that both of our oaks on the lawn have a full head of tiny leaflets. I was really worried that the munching caterpillars that denuded them two years in a row might have killed the poor things. But, no, they look as if they will have a full set.

And soon the roar of the grass cutter will resound throughout the neighbourhood. Just about when the dandelions now showing golden heads will be ready to turn white and go poof, spreading many many seeds. Ah well. I guess I will grab my camera and record all this lushness and promise, in case the damn caterpillars show up again. Why cannot they eat dandelions, hmmm?

About the bird noises. We have chickadees calling ‘Hey sweetie?’. We have a most mellifluous rose breasted grosbeak, song sparrows emoting in several locations, and the usual ‘Cronk’ that the ravens utter as they pass. We also have blue jays and they are pretty birds. Until they open their beaks.

And squawk. The closest they come to a musical note is a sort of ‘Doink’ they make, bobbing, when trying to entice a mate. Like the chickadees, both sexes look the same to me, but obviously, given their success, they know the difference. Jays also hop up to one another and offer a seed. I can only wonder which one is the giver and which the recipient.

Edited to add: JG just saw a hummingbird checking out the window where he obviously expected to find a feeder. I am off to boil up some sugar water and, hopefully, search the storage shelves for the feeders I carefully packaged up last fall.

I just took some quick pics, and will post them here. And I leave you with this rather amusing one, captioned as follows.  “I am a lonely little narcissus in a daffodil patch.”