Done Worrying

They are together once again and working on "fixing" the nest. I can now move on and watch the bluebirds select their houses in the front yard.

Sighing a Bit

In a past post I wrote about my concern for the return of "my" osprey to our nest site. We continued to study the platform and the skies for osprey. A few days ago we saw an osprey attacking two geese on the river, but without much success. Then the next day we saw this!

My husband went out with some noisemakers to see if he could discourage him. He eventually resorted to blank gunfire which is legal in this area. The goose was not in any hurry to leave, but he finally did.

This one goose finally left, but the very next day we heard osprey crying in the sky above the river and then saw this!

These geese are imprinted as they did successfully raise their geese on this platform a few years ago. Hubby went out to harass them again, and between the osprey's cry and hubby's noise, they finally left. Hubby says when he makes the sound of the hissing snake, that seemed to work the best?! Needless to say, our neighbors across the way got a nice show and are wondering when I am going to put him in an old folk's home. Finally, the osprey came in and claimed the nest and he is now waiting for his partner! Let us hope her journey is safe.

Below he is rearranging the furniture in the nursery.

The small tree-like shrubs are an example of how wet the weather was last year. There is also a small lawn in the front! I am NOT going to mow it.

Patience With a Little Pop

The Interloper

"My" osprey have still not returned to the nest, which is the longest ever in the decade-plus I have lived here. Odd, but we do know pretty much when they come back. I did see an osprey fly over the river one day. The next day I saw an osprey fly over the nest, but clearly was on another mission as he/she never returned even though I heard that familiar cry as it headed to the silhouette of the trees. But how about my sharing some manipulated "artistic" versions some of my other birds that have been here all winter, keeping me company and eating me out of house and home, since I have grown tired of watching and waiting?

Waiting

I am much like the Captain's wife that walks the roofwalk, or as some know it, the widow's walk each spring.  Instead of scanning the horizon across the ocean, I scan the blue skies and the bare leaved treetops. I am waiting for the return of my osprey. The first ones have appeared in this county about seven days ago. "My" osprey usually arrive on or around the 15th of March. Today is the 19th and no sign of the first of the couple. Twice we have chased the geese from the nest. They nested there once two years ago, and we do not want that drama again as the osprey cannot chase them off!

I cannot pass a window that I do not check the nest several times a day.  It is odd how the angle of the sunlight tells me it is osprey time.  It is a deep inner longing that has grown in me in the 14 years we have lived here.

The various little songbirds are checking out the nesting boxes and chattering about front porch directions and viewing angles.  Most must get the approval of the spouse.  Woodpeckers have selected small holes in dead trunks and I can hear the rat-tat-tat as they make the holes larger for their egg laying.

The thrasher sits 150 up at the top of the dying tulip tree singing his repertoire of marvelous songs.  What female could ignore that talent?  This long concert only lasts a few days and it can be sad if you miss it because it will get much shorter as the days warm.

Still and again I do not see my osprey.  My thoughts go to dangers they may have encountered on their trip north from Central America and/or Florida.  It usually takes them 3 to 4 weeks to get here.  Dangers they encounter include tall buildings, electrical wires and poles, wind turbines and similar structures. "Birds that migrate at night are more likely to collide with lighted windows or other light sources. "  You can go here for other dangers to migrating birds if you do not understand how difficult this journey is. 

When I am away from the windows I find myself listening for their cry.  They always cry when they first arrive as if overwhelmed to be back home.  They are much like we are.

Form and Structure in Black and White

The days grow in length like some tapeworm feeding on daylight. We are hungry for color. The blacks, grays, and whites of our lives are no longer enough sustenance once the months turn to spring. What was cozy and quiet and meditative and rewarding in its sacrifice has grown wet and heavy and small. Although we were somewhat nurtured by a brilliant yellow-red fire, it no longer feeds us as the more brilliant fire glows longer outside the window. But I spent some time last month working on black and white photos of my birds...one is more colorful in real life than the two others. I find that the black and white gives them their form and structure without the distraction of color in the scenery.

Dark-eyed Junco

Blue-jay

Chickadee

And the one that scolds me when I forget to fill the feeders I will bring you in living color.

White breasted Nuthatch

Sproing!!

Is it too early for spring? We have gotten freezes and snows into mid-April. But today I took a walk out in my front yard and this is what I saw:

I do not have a lawn as an environmental statement and as a lazy statement.

No, these cannot compete with the bluebonnets of Texas. But they are my little bonnets of blue close to the ground. And they attracted this fellow...the FIRST of the season on March 13!!

I think its common name is the Eastern Comma. My February Lenton Roses are still bringing forth lots of spring beauty in competition.

If you look closely at the photo above you will see the sapsucker holes in a neat row in my young sugar maple.

Stuck in the Middle

Some days we are both prickly and fragile and maybe that is because we are stuck between a nail and a hard place...

Your Moment of Zen

Life has been tough so I think I should share a few of last year's sunsets (picked at random from each month since I have so many and these were not taken from the same location) for a few moments of Zen as this winter drags its way to an end.

August 2018

September 2018

October 2018

November 2018

December 2018

There are those, a few friends of mine on FB, that think sunsets are overrated. They are tired of photographs of sunsets. Maybe they are too beautiful and thus cloying and simple...no depth. Perhaps they are right, but I need beauty at the end of a day, especially if I have been too busy to enjoy the day, to enjoy the earth, the repetition of a sunset is very calming and reassuring.

Overwintering

The cold and dark days of February force me to start artificial tropical plants in my kitchen. I "keep" amaryllis bulbs, take them outside when weather is warm, let them go dormant in fall and bury them as dry and clean bulbs in the dark of the basement until just such a perfect day in early February where I bring them up and encourage them to do their stuff. This double amaryllis bloomed back the last week of February. But I was too busy to post the show. The blossoms were at least 7 inches from tip to tip. Gorgeous and I cannot take my eyes off of it on its peak day!

It is full of itself in that it is top heavy with a juicy flow and has to be carefully staked as well as turned at least once a day. I notice only a small fragrance.

It is full of very sexy curves, is it not? Even a beauty in black and white it is Rubenesque in style.  

To harp on a theme, it is rather phallic in its earliest stages.

Do you overwinter bulbs??