Month: March 2026

A Splash of Color

/ Rebecca / 17 Comments

A group of Sandhill Cranes spent the winter at a nearby refuge, giving us the chance to see them during their stay.

Notice the rusty tint on some of these cranes’ feathers. Sometimes they stain their gray feathers with iron-rich mud during preening, resulting in this rusty coloration. Though it is not known exactly why this is done, various theories suggest that it may help with camouflage, enhance their appearance during mating season, serve as an alternative to dust bathing, or assist in controlling feather parasites. Regardless of the reason, this splash of color adds an interesting touch to their ash-gray feathers.

Below are a couple of photos of Sandhill Cranes we spotted flying over the fields near our house.

“When melodies dance and colors splash, the world becomes a little less gray.” ~Unknown

Credits: https://blog.nature.org/2024/03/20/did-you-know-sandhill-cranes-dye-their-feathers/

A Hint of Spring

/ Rebecca / 16 Comments

Every day presents fresh indications that spring is right around the corner, filling the heart with thankfulness and joy for every new blessing that appears. Unfortunately, winter isn’t quite ready to relinquish its reign just yet. We hope the little plants can hold on as winter makes another appearance and the cold temperatures return next week.

“And just like that … winter opened cold bleary eyes to the newborn colors of spring.”  ~Angie Weiland-Crosby

“Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle.” ~Barbara Winkler

“The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.”  ~Gertrude S. Wister

White Blossoms falling, falling from on high
Before the bitter Winter has gone past,
Can it perchance be that beyond the Sky
The Spring — the longed for Spring has come at last.
~Shotaro Kimura and Charlotte M. A. Peake

The Eagles Have Landed in the Osprey’s Nest

/ Rebecca / 13 Comments

We enjoy watching a pair of ospreys that have built their nest in a cypress tree out on the lake, where they have spent their summers for the past several years.

By late autumn, the ospreys have migrated and the nest sits vacant, waiting for their return in the spring.

So, it was a surprise recently when we looked out and saw two black and white birds sitting snuggly in the nest.  It was a pair of bald eagles making themselves very much at home in the osprey’s nest.  One of the eagles had been hunting and had just returned with a small fish for its lunch.

“Houses are really quite odd things. They have almost no universally defining qualities: they can be of practically any shape, incorporate virtually any material, be of almost any size. Yet wherever we go in the world we recognize domesticity the moment we see it.” ~Bill Bryson