I’ve enjoyed watching this little family of house sparrows fluttering around the backyard this week. Right now, the baby birds are sticking pretty close to the mother even though they are big enough to pick up the sunflower seeds themselves. You can tell the babies from the mother by the yellow lines around their mouth.
“That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.” ~Emily Dickinson
Every spring I look forward to the arrival of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak as they migrate through our area. They summer north of us and winter south of us, but during migration, they stop over at our feeders to feast on black sunflower seeds. The males are black and white with red chevrons, while the females are brown and white with whitish stripes over the eye. While they are here, they liven up the back yard with their beauty and presence.
“We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love … and then we return home.” ~Australian Aboriginal Proverb
This Killdeer brought a bit of drama into my afternoon walk when she suddenly let out a loud shrill and ran frantically in short spurts across the road in front of me and into a freshly planted farm field. She was obviously trying to lure my attention away from a nest she had hidden in the grass nearby.
“When in danger, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout!” ~Unknown
This is the mockingbird that stands guard in our front yard. He generally positions himself at different posts situated about the area, ready to chase off any intruders who venture into his territory. Musically, he is an extremely talented bird that likes to sing day and night. He positions himself in a bush outside our window and performs his varied repertoire of sounds and songs — in a crisp, clear voice — into the early hours of the morning. Due to his enthusiastic singing, especially during nesting season, I like to keep a pair of ear plugs or a box fan handy — just for those times when my brain yearns for silence.
“When my critics tell me to stop singing, I tell them NAY, NAY, NAY!” ~Unknown
I spotted this lovely Black-necked Stilt strutting around on its long, slender pink legs in some wetland not far from the Mississippi River. It was quite focused on its task of foraging for food.
“I dressed and went for a walk – determined not to return until I took in what Nature had to offer.” ~Raymond Carver
A Great Egret standing lookout at Black Bayou Refuge, Lake County, Tennessee
“Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.” ~E. B. White
Noisy strings of geese making their way across the farm fields of Northwest Tennessee.
“One swallow does not make a summer, but one skein of geese, cleaving the murk of March thaw is the spring.” ~Aldo Leopold
One day, as I was sitting out in the backyard enjoying the solitude of nature, I became aware of a small group of grackles sitting up high in a pine tree bantering back and forth to one another. Though I wasn’t sure the gist of their conversation, the pleasant exchanges seemed to be in harmony with the peacefulness of the morning.
“The happiest conversation is that of which nothing is distinctly remembered, but a general effect of pleasing impression.” ~Samuel Johnson
The red maple trees in our yard are flowering and make a pretty backdrop for the various birds that come and go from their busy branches.
… After that unheard-of coldness,
That intolerable Winter,
Came the Spring with all its splendor,
All its birds and all its blossoms …
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – (The Song of Hiawatha)
walking on a country road 