The Birds are Back

Yesterday was another wild one. We had about every kind of weather they make for late winter here in NY.
The sun shown.
It rained.
It snowed.
It was cold and dark.
The sun came out again. Our little creek could be heard from the house as it enthusiastically moved melt water downhill.

The stove needed some TLC around noon so I went out with some assorted kindling material (denim scraps from quilting burn quite enthusiastically). As I stood in front of it amid drizzle and flakiness I heard a sweet singer, first of his kind for the year. Normally a few song sparrows hang around all winter. For the past several years a very tame one rummaged round the heifer barn yard, singing right at us from the fence as we walked by and fluttering out from under the truck right at our feet. However, this year I haven't seen one since maybe last November. I think the tame one may have died or moved along, because the one singing at the stove was different. Lighter colored with a much different song. However, it sang from the same perches as the old one and seemed to want to cheer me up, as it circled right around me, trying out trees and bushes for a new sound stage.

From behind the hill I could hear hundreds of red winged black birds, the biggest flock yet this year (and only the second one I have seen or heard). They set up a din back there as long as I was moving logs and shoveling ashes.

Geese are back too. I think this is the first recent winter that even the resident geese were forced to move south as I haven't seen any in months. There are still only a handful, a gaggle here, a pair there, but I am sure before long there will be thousands. Soon we will have robins, although they seem to show up quite late here on the south side of the river. This is kind of a hard time of year, trying to get by with only one tractor and praying that it doesn't get stuck (no way to tow it out.). Calving is starting so Liz won't be getting much sleep, although the boss will do the midnight checks and she will nap daytimes. Milk prices are so bad I have never seen worse. Four farms off our truck are out of business now and another neighbor sold out to the Amish.

The birds don't care. They are burning their bridges and getting ready to nest, devil take the weather. Maybe they know something we don't.

Global warming here at Northview Farm.
And here is a good post on the topic at Carpe Diem. Be sure and check out the comments.