They're Back

Killdeer

A glowing melon rind of moon was shining through the dark, bare trees just above the eastern horizon. It was as orange as a cantaloupe and as unexpected as a snowflake in July. Some planet, probably Venus, blinking in and out among loose clouds, bright as a lodestar.

5:30 in the morning. Mack and I were outdoor kennel bound. He is a devilish dervish after being in the house all winter and it is plenty warm today even for a Jack Russell coat. Let him run some of that crazy off out there for a change.

I heard a tantalizing twitter as we walked. What was that? Sparrows in the bushes? Something rodenty over by the barn?It was too soft to be sure. Used to be, just a couple short years ago, that on Sunday mornings the traffic noise was quieter than the rest of the week. Not any more. Now I guess the business climate has improved or something and even at this dark hour the trucks are steady and noisy.

Then just as I closed the kennel gate I heard another sound.

Close. 

Right next to the lawn.

Peent-t-t-t-t.....an American Woodcock.

The first in many years here, at least since the cows left us.

As it took to the sky in its mad, twittering sky dance, another began to peent nearby. For a while they alternated calling from the ground and flying their magic mating flight. Then they flew an incredible duet right over my head.

As night wound down and dawn began to break, a dozen robins began to sing. Two song sparrows chimed in, while a small flight of Mallards quacked over. 

A tom turkey gobbled from the hillside, two Killdeers screamed around me another species that has been gone from the farm for a while. 

I was as close to Heaven as I need to be just now. Paradise in your own back yard. What's not to like?

Bama Breeze