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| Horse and pony tracks |
Working on the Farm Side for this week and remembering a spring just before Liz was born. My brother Matt, whom many of you know, helped us out that year before he was deployed to Korea for a while.
The weather was incredible. Snow melted before March. By April our oats and seeding were planted and growing, cows were out on ample grass, and we were getting corn in the ground. In theory this was a fairly normal scenario, but in Upstate NY it was downright notable.
We did lose some oats to torrential rain later, and some of the corn didn't germinate as well as we would have liked, but it was a phenomenal crop season.
It is not going to be repeated this year.
Nonetheless, we are perched on the edge of spring. Still no migrants and the birds are stupid tame, which is perhaps not a good thing, but the air is warmer than it has been in weeks and a melt-the-snow-quick wind is blowing.
I walked Daisy out in it early this morning and found a White-throated Sparrow sitting on the window of our car. I happened to be multi-tasking, filling the feeders while I walked the dog. Thus I held out a handful of seed to it. It looked it over, but didn't partake, and then stayed all the while I was outdoors before flying away.
Could have been the victim of window strike, but I think it was hiding from a hawk and considered me the lesser of two evils. Anyhow, I am sure it and its buddies are more than ready to head north for nesting time.
And although I will miss their absurd level of tameness this winter, I am ready for Chipping and Song Sparrows to take their place.
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4 comments:
Every spring seems unique! I recall 90-degree days in some Aprils, as well as three-foot snowfalls also in April. Last year, our winter was really mild, but it stayed cold well into May. We can always hope that a pleasant surprise awaits us this year. Thank you for helping the wild critters make it through.
I saw my very first towhee yesterday. I was delighted...so was it..we shared a lovely few minutes together.
Linda ♪♫❤
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Do you know what I'd give to experience that "absurd tameness." !!????
Jacqueline, you are so right about that. No matter how many seasons we see they are never dull and boring. Within the past ten years we have seen frost in June here! Hopefully not this year.
Linda, oh, lucky, lucky you. I am so glad for you. Not a single migrant here yet on our north-facing slope...but soon, I hope
Cathy, how I I wish that you could. They come around your feet almost like chickens. It worries me though...not exactly normal behavior for northern sparrows. I worry that they are truly starving and need the feed so much that they are willing to approach us to get at it. We lost a lot of snow yesterday so hopefully the natural foods will be opening up and they can get something to eat besides what we feed them.
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