It must have been Magic

First, as I was watering plants at around 4:30...hey, it's almost light out then...a Yellow-billed Cuckoo sounded off in the yard. Awesome to have had both potential species of cuckoo right in the yard this year. Liz and I heard a Black-billed last week. Nabbed a short recording too.

Then when the boss got up he took me up to a swamp on Pavlus Road that never lets me down. I was enjoying the many local birds when a female Eastern Bluebird landed in a tree right next to the little parking place. She was gorgeous and I snapped some photos.

What do you think dear?
Does this twig go with the curtains?

Just as I turned away the male appeared and I realized that they were working on a nest in a dead tree just a few feet from where we park the car.

I am hoping they continue there and that I catch a glimpse of their brood if they have one.

The Missus

With a last winnow of a Wilson's Snipe we headed for another favorite pond. Alas that one is posted now, and the nice man who gave us permission to bird there has passed away. Thus we parked out on the verge of the road and peered in from there.

Forgot to put this guy in first time around...Common Gallinule

It is always a magical spot, but when not one but two Common Gallinules swam out of the cattails and paraded by I was spellbound.

Not to mention really happy as I hadn't seen one yet this year.

There are regular turtles with only one head at Lyker's too
Lots of them

And the day went on like that. We managed to get six nice tomatoes yesterday and I was out planting two of them when the Purple Finches brought the kids in to the feeder. It seems pretty special to have them breed right down by the driveway.

Perhaps the high point of the day though was the two-headed turtle at Lyker's Pond. You see something like that and it makes you reflect on the magic of nature.....

Photo below.....

Out There

Common Yellowthroat

In the murmuring dark.

My farmer's soul can't sleep past four. If I get up the dog gets up and must be aired right smart.

Off in the distance just one robin is singing.

Or is it? So far, so soft, just not quite silent.

The yard light wakes the locals, the chorus is on. By first light there'll be a dozen, by sunup many more..... the Indigo Bunting that must nest in the yard, although we've never spotted the structure itself. There are fledglings though, every single year, fooling me with ringing chirps that surprise from the shrubbery all summer day long.

Warblers, Yellow, "Sweet, sweet, sweet, I'm so sweet," Yellow-throated, "Witchity, witchity, witchity," little bandits of the bushes. I love their bold tameness and their bright, yet secret colors.

And American Redstart, who also says, "Sweet, sweet swee..." but it's a sharper, thready sound, almost too mechanical a whistle.

Northern Cardinals, Carolina Wren, done with first nesting and back to summer song, sometimes a Wood Thrush, usually well off to the north, but one day right out by the wood stove, and wasn't that a morning! 

Sun will bring the Bobolinks, and their techno crazy melodies. Check out a spectrogram of the places their songs go. Wow!

Field Sparrow, first time they have ever summered near the house. Such a gorgeous silver waterfall of sweet, sweet, liquid sound all day. 

By breakfast it will be a job to pick out all the singers and squawkers and squealers, but in the last true darkness, it's just the robin and me out there, light waking sleepers sharing our joy, twin seekers of the light.

Purple Finch

Crossroads

...seem to come and go..... (do listen)

Update: this perfect poem was shared by a Facebook friend....and I do mean perfect.

Caution

As farmers finish spring tillage and planting work and segue into the hay harvest, it is wise to use caution on rural roads. 

Most farm machinery travels 25 mph or less, and around here, some of it travels a LOT less. However, a little patience and caution will get you where you are going pretty quickly.

So look out please, most of them are feeding the world and we all love to eat.....however a few are just having a hecka good time.

Thanks

June is Dairy Month

Great advice, should school as we know it ever return

I always loved writing the June is Dairy Month and July is Ice Cream Month columns back in the day. It seemed as if they wrote themselves in fact. When you love dairy farming, dairy farmers, and dairy products is is easy and fun to talk...or write...about them.

These days however, times are tougher than they have ever been on our nation's dairy farms. Farmers are facing unprecedented low prices, transport problems, and leadership doubts. Consolidation in markets, coops buying processors, dumping milk, decimated milk checks...It's a wonder we can still get cheese on our pizza.

Our local source for milk, Stewart's, has been sold out a number of times even though they source their own milk from dedicated farmers. With folks home with their kids demand is high, which in theory should result in higher farm gate prices. There are dozens of excuses why it hasn't. 

Still, I am happy to salute the men, women, and children, who rise early and work late, caring for God's creatures, producing nature's most perfect food, and stewarding land for now and for the future. Let's raise a glass...of fresh, delicious whole milk of course.... to their hard work and wholesome product.

Milk-it does EVERYbody good!

***And if you want to own your own cow here's your chance. 

Wild Flowers

Blue-winged Warbler

Some earth bound and some with wings to fly.....

River Walk

Spotted Sandpiper

Song Sparrow with a big Mayfly

Not long after sunrise, the best time of day.

Saucy

Pink Lady apple...purchased last November 16th. Still usable if a little rough

Last year's apples taking up room in the crisper drawer. Space needed.

Had a thought. Could you mix rhubarb, which is in season with apples, which are well past theirs but still perfectly good, to make some kind of sauce?

Google says you can and so I did.

Applesauce with a kick...kinda zingy and good. Whatever we don't enjoy with pork chops for supper tonight I'll freeze.

And now the crisper drawer is free for summer fruits and vegetables.

Yay!

River Gone

As mentioned the other day there isn't much left of either the Schoharie Creek or the Mohawk River. With the dams at the locks open the water packs its luggage and heads for the sea.

Who could blame it? Rumor has it that they will start closing the structures sometime between July and August, months later than usual.

Makes for lousy boating and limited fishing but for fools who get a kick out of walking on the river bed it's pretty cool. I walked almost out to the gravel bar that runs west to east where the big stream hits the river yesterday. (You can see it on the right in the photo below) Only stopped because it seemed foolish for someone of my age and infirmities to try to stroll in mud covered with head-sized round rocks. Made it most of the way though.

Yesterday

Same scene as above only last summer

Pretty nice out there...mirrored pools turned bright green by reflections of the shoreline trees, tranquil mallards and Canada Geese floating slowly away. Bird song on all sides as returning migrants stake out territories and lure in mates.

Yesterday

Last summer

Except on the fragrance side of the equation. The river bottom mud smells just like a neglected dog kennel....long neglected....

Anyhow it was fun and I saw a few nice birds as well.

Last year

Ditto

Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting

 Bunnies is scrappy little critters!

Metamorphosis

First born children...game changers they are. Magicians. In one fell swoop they take a bundle of selfish needs and wants and impossible goals and dreams and change it into a mother, who will never sleep the same again if she lives a thousand years. 

Sometimes they make us grandmothers too and teach us another side of life, as different from parenthood as parenthood is from that other state of being that comes before it. Nice to have time to play with the kiddos instead of having to be a general marshalling the troops like a mama does.

Our game changer has a birthday today. I hope you will join us in wishing her a very special one.

She was born a cow whisperer. Right from the beginning of the very first forming of personality she loved cows. When she was three Grandpa Delbert gave her the first one, a grade Holstein heifer. Most people look at a herd of cows and ask, "How can you tell them all apart?"

Liz knew Flower, as she called her, from the get go and could pick her out of sixty in the barnyard right off. She used to drag her chunks of particularly tasty hay that were almost as big as she was.

Soon enough she knew them all.

Now besides the cows, she is a dog whisperer too, and has a lot of four-legged friends at the kennel where she works. She's a mother herself and knows of that magical transformation from just a "me" to somebody's mom. 

 Happy Birthday, Liz. Hope you have a good one and many more of the same. We love you.

Where's the Rum?

Almost as much water flowing through this fountain Alan built me
as there is in the river these days.

Or should I ask, where's the water?

As I may have mentioned we visit the boat launch at Schoharie Crossing State Historical Site more days than not. It's a nice place even if you aren't a birder, situated near the confluence of the Schoharie "Creek" (loose term for misnamed river...she sure can rage when she wants to) and the Mohawk River. It is just above Lock 12 and home to kayak parties, picnics, and bass tournaments in summer almost every year.

In fact we usually only visit in the early morning in late spring, summer, and early fall, because it gets really crowded and all the birds hide in the bushes and are not seen...well, except for the day of the Nelson's Gull but that is another story.

However, this year the state never closed the dams at the locks. The river is the lowest any of us has ever seen it as is the Schoharie. You can walk on the stony bed of the creek more than half way across it and all the way to the river. Fun for me, as the carp are spawning in the shallows making a great show of splash and dash, and birds love the mud flats. 

However, today the boat steward (still on duty, even without navigable water) had some questions to answer as did I. I was just heading back to the car when three big pickups pulling speedy bass boats on fancy trailers pulled into the parking lot.

Men exited the trucks and stood around staring in puzzlement and scratching their heads.

"Where's the water?" one of them asked me. I explained about the locks and pointed out the little headland behind which lock 12 is situated.

"Is it always like this in the spring?" another asked a little later as he walked the significant distance from the concrete foundation of the launch (no floating dock...nothing to float on) on his way to try to fish from the much altered "shore".

Same answer. They had driven three hours to fish, having participated in bass tournaments there many times. They decided to give Sacandaga a go. I told them that I thought there was water there.

Anyone know if there are plans to open the canal at all this summer? I actually love the ability to walk right on the river bed, but I think the boat folks are hoping. 

Looking up the Schoharie at the aqueduct back in March
the big pool in the foreground is not much bigger than a bathtub now.

Not so Secret Ballot

Hurry, the polls are closing....
oh, wait, they aren't even opening....

I've always voted in person...since I was 18 in fact....

However, this year the school budget and board vote is by absentee ballot only.

This does not seem like a terribly private process. You have to fill out all your personal information on the inner envelope and sign it, making it pretty obvious how you voted to whomever is involved in the counting.

Am I the only one uncomfortable with this?

Asking for a friend....

Because I just filled out my vote, even if I am not thrilled with the method.

Sure hope they don't try this on the state or national level. The wiggle room for fraud is staggering. Bad enough the way it is now.

Some Gave All