In my backyard | 3.18.24
Today is a day for celebration! It is the last full day of winter!!
And yet…I have savored these 13 weeks slowly and thoughtfully as I read one essay a week with Margaret Renkl. It was the most aware winter of my life and I am celebrating every moment of winter as it draws to a close.
But!!
I am also full of excitement to welcome the arrival of spring tomorrow! My hope is that the next 13 weeks as I immerse myself in spring will be as full of delights as the winter weeks were!
No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. ― Hal Borland
I love this quote from Borland… he has some of the best wisdom as one moves from one season to another. Especially as the “edges” of seasons can overlap each other a bit. I won’t be shocked if winter pushes back on spring a bit and I have loved the spring-like days that have been creeping into winter!
About mid-February, we jumped on the Bird Buddy band wagon and have had loads of fun with it. And while I am contemplating some modifications to deter the bigger birds, thus far it is providing maximum delight! I discovered we have a Titmouse who has a little yellow band… so that is kind of fun! (I also reported my banded bird sighting!) I am laughing out loud at the antics of the Common Grackle! I am not sure there is another bird on the planet (or at least in my backyard) with a better stare down! And although the Bird Buddy has not gotten any woodpecker snaps, they are loving it as well! As does our local squirrel family, of course!
The deer also are enjoying the new feeder… no snaps of them yet either, but I live in hope! Saturday morning, I was delighted to see a ‘trail’ of deer fur across my back yard… they must be shedding for the spring! The birds made short work of it as the morning sun dried the frosty ground… some wee baby birds will have lovely soft nests! Making sure I am taking in all that is around me has opened my eyes to things that probably happened before, but I was not looking for them so I missed out on the wonder and the joy!
Somehow, Margaret Renkl’s wisdom each week astounds me anew (I had previously read The Comfort of Crows) but as I read “Praise Song for a Spring I Was Not Alive to See” I was profoundly struck by how similar her thoughts are with the thoughts of Andri Snær Magnason, as he talks about sitting in the same space with his 94 year old grandmother and his daughter as they contemplate the daughter’s grandchildren and the connection between them all. (I am savoring On Time and Water currently.) The idea that this coming spring is a spring my dearest Nana would have experienced as a young girl… and that someday Vivi’s grandchildren will experience the same spring. (at least that is my hope that there will still be spring in the future.) These are thoughts that fill my heart with deep joy as I contemplate a connectedness that moves beyond time.
And of course, there’s this…
So many birds are singing and singing and singing. — Margaret Renkl, The Comfort of Crows
And there you have a glimpse into my backyard as I bid winter a fond farewell and welcome spring with open arms!
Happy Last Day of Winter everyone!