Spring

Spring is here once again.  All the typical signs are evident:  the peepers are singing in the ditch, the crocus and daffodils are blooming the country roads are littered with dead skunks.  It baffles me that of all the beauty spring brings, the flattened bodies of skunks are one of the first signs.  I guess it doesn't pay to be one of the first ones out in spring.  On a brighter note, this morning there were rabbits grazing on the few green shoots of grass out by the garden.

Today it is in the low 60's and the early seeds sitting on the counter were calling my name.  So since the moon phase is almost right, the ground was not cold, the soil had just the right tilth and I could no longer resist the call to get my hands in the dirt, I planted some peas.  Just one short row.  I have plenty of seed, so I will probably have to plant again, but just working the soil and placing the plump, wrinkled seeds in the earth was wonderful.  Sun and rain and they will grow.

The early seedlings I started indoors are coming up.  The tiny necks of the plant poke through the soil and then lift their head and unfurl their first two leaves.  I always feel that life is affirmed when a seed sprouts and begins its life.  Grandpa and I bend over the young plants and marvel at how such a tiny seed will become a sturdy pepper plant or a ranging tomato that will take over the garden.  All is takes is someone to plant the seed and give it food, water and light.  People are a lot like that too.  All we need to do is give each other care and food, water and light.  Affirm life.

Is It Spring?

A lovely, mild winter.  Everyone is loving the warm, pleasant weather, but everything is out of kilter!  My spring bulbs, which are usually just beginning to peek out by this time, are 4 inches tall.  The birds are singing in the mornings as if it were spring.  And beyond any reason, I planted lettuce! This shirt-sleeve weather has me sorting seeds, puttering among the garden beds and getting out the peat pots to begin starting seeds for the garden.  But it is too early.  They say a big storm is on the way.  Perhaps, but just in case it misses us, I am going to plan for an early spring!

Stars

The stars have always fascinated me.  When I was a child, we lived near an observatory, and often my parents would take us to the public programs offered there.  On of my fondest memories is sitting through a lecture about what we were to see then climbing into the big dome with it silver eyelid open to the night sky.  In my dress, patent leather shoes and cardigan sweater I climbed the black metal stairs to peer through the tiny eyepiece.  I recall the first time I saw a miniature Saturn and its rings there before me.  It was magical and spiritual all at once.

I've forgotten much of what I learned during those lectures, but still on a cold, clear winter night I love to look at the night sky.  The winter sky is my favorite, and although I can still find the dippers and Orion, I mostly just stand bundled in my coat and scarf with my head back in wonder.  In winter the stars are twice as bright and seem close enough to touch, and from our driveway in the country away from the city lights, it is as if they were strung across the jet black night just for us.  I marvel at them now as I did looking  for the first time through the telescope.  It is still spiritual and magical all at once.

The Bird Feeder

As I sit here with a cup of tea, I'm watching the birds at the feeder.  Following the rush of Christmas, I'm enjoying watching the birds and looking at the winter woods.  Today there are at least 20 cardinals at the feeder.  I've seen purple finches, chickadees, gold finches, titmouse, downy woodpeckers, and yellow bellied sapsuckers/woodpeckers, blue jays and a few sparrows.  Earlier I heard the scream of a hawk.  I think he might have been eyeing the gathering of song birds at the feeder and considering them for his lunch!

One of the most disconcerting things I've seen at the feeder happened in just such a setting.  I was watching the birds enjoy their seeds when a dark shadow passed over the feeder.  Most of the birds scattered, but one or two stayed.  Suddenly, a small hawk, probably a sharp-shinned hawk- came screaming in from the west and without missing a beat of his wings he snatched a cardinal right off the bird feeder.  The poor cardinal screamed and struggled, but it was the last time he would cry out.  The last I saw of him was his struggling in the hawks talons as the hawk flapped up over the trees and headed into the woods.

But today is bright and sunny, and so far the birds have been unmolested.  I hope the hawk found a mouse or snake to eat today and will leave the birds alone!

If you want to attact birds to your yard, try this recipe for bird seed cakes http://www.pallensmith.com/articles/bird-seed-cakes

Moonlight

It was a full moon last night; I think it might have been the most beautiful moon I've ever seen.  Even as it rose, it remained golden and bright.  Not only that, it seemed to be close enough to touch.  Crossing the river on our way home, the moonlight just poured over the water like shining golden puddles.  There was just something about the moonlight and the December night that was peaceful and bright.  How does the Christmas carol go?  All is calm, all is bright.  That was what it was last night.  Hallowed light coming from the heavens and spilling itself on the earth.  Peace to all.

Wild Turkey

Grandpa and I were up early this morning to walk a trail along one of our local creeks.  To reach the trail we first have to drive eight miles along meandering country roads through the woods and by neighboring farms.  It is always a beautiful drive, but we had a special treat this morning.  Rounding a curve near a pond, five or six enormous birds flew out of the trees right in front of our car.  Big dark forms that even from the car were intimidating as they passed in front of the windshield. Wild turkey.  Now, these are not graceful birds when they fly.  They are heavy and generally they fly more like chickens - rather low to the ground, but they can fly fast.  Swooping across our path these birds were flying like it was the day before Thanksgiving and their lives depended on their escape.  Most flew on across the field and disappeared into the far woods, but one bird just couldn't keep herself air born.  She came down in the field and than ran to catch up with the rest of the flock her strong legs pumping her across the field.  A turkey can run up to 25 mph, so it didn't take her long to disappear into the woods with the others.  You never know what you will see when you go for a morning walk.

Soothing and Reassuring

It's been raining all day.  It's a light rain, the kind one thinks of when one thinks of the weather in Seattle.  It is a beautiful fine mist.  You can stand in it and not realize you are slowly becoming soaked.  You know it is raining, but you don't notice that you are getting wet until suddenly a small rivulet of water begins to run down your collar.

It is the kind of day where staying by the fire and reading is a joy. It is a soft day - soothing and reassuring.  Of course, Grandpa Swift says that his snoring is soothing and reassuring too!  He says that it is reassuring because I know he is alive, and it is soothing because it is steady and constant every night.  I think I prefer the soft patter of rain on the windows.