Saturday, May 14, 2005, 18:13
Spring on the Wing
My yard certainly is full of color at this time of year.
For starters, there's the bright yellow male goldfinches. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been watching the goldfinches as they perch on the trellises my husband built by the platform bird feeder. They like to perch on top of the poles, sometimes two or three or four of them, singing at the top of their lungs to let the lady goldfinches know where they are. The females come to the platform feeder, too, but they seem more interested in the birdseed than in paying attention to the males.
About a month ago, I bought one of those seed bags the goldfinches are supposed to love. I had one a few years ago, and it took the goldfinches a couple of months to discover it, even though it was hanging right by the bird feeder. This morning, the goldfinches finally discovered the seed bag. And all because a blue jay flew in and scared them off the top of the trellis. One landed farther down, saw the seed bag, and flew over to it. The other goldfinches saw the first one, wondered was he was up to, and followed him to the seed bag. And just like that, three blazing yellow spots were clinging to the white bag, making a bright splash of color on a cloudy gray rainy morning.
Downy woodpeckers and rose-breasted grosbeaks also come to the yard. The grass and trees provide a green background for contrast, and the black-and-white of the downy woodpeckers and the rose-breasted grosbeaks is especially striking. The splash of cherry-red on the backs of the heads of the downy woodpeckers and at the base of the throat of the rose-breasted grosbeaks adds another dash of color.
The Baltimore orioles are back, too, and are coming to the feeder for the jelly I put out in a dish for them. The first time I see orioles in the spring, I am always amazed by the intensity of their coloring, vivid orange against the black. Sometimes we get orchard orioles, too. They look like "rusty" versions of the Baltimore orioles, but so far, I haven't seen any orchard orioles.
And then there are the bluebirds, with their true-blue-bluer-than-blue coloring. They remind me of a piece of summer sky taken to wing. And there's also the scarlet of the male cardinals. And the deep green of the tree swallows. And the midnight blue of the barn swallows. And later on, if I am lucky, blue-green-iridescent Indigo buntings will visit the bird feeders. And maybe a few raspberry-red purple finches, as well.
After the white landscape of winter and the dull-brown of early spring, the colors flitting around my yard are especially welcome. Humans try to replicate those colors in a variety of ways: fabrics for clothing and curtains, paint for walls and ceilings, plastic for pinwheel lawn ornaments and plant stakes.
So far, nothing we have made comes close to the true colors of "spring on the wing."
LeAnn R. Ralph
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Thursday, May 12, 2005, 18:13
A Rude Awakening
Even before I opened my eyes this morning, I knew my little tabby, Bobby-Cat, was only inches from my face. And how did I know this? The sharp pain in my lip which could only be a cat claw gave it away.
"Hi Bobby," I said.
Bobby-Cat was, indeed, inches from my face, staring at me fixedly, one paw -- and one claw -- extended.
"You want to go outside, don't you," I said.
"Meow!" Bobby-Cat replied.
I heaved a sigh and crawled out of bed.
"What time is it?" I wondered as I stumbled into the kitchen.
I squinted at the clock -- 5 a.m. -- and then I held open the kitchen door.
"There you go," I said.
Without so much as a second glance in my direction, Bobby-Cat zipped outside.
I turned around and went back to bed.
I've already had a little talk with Bobby-Cat about waking me up with a claw in the lip. She used to wake me up by licking my face when she wanted to go outside. Being licked on the face by a cat is an excruciating experience. It's like being rubbed with sandpaper. Very rough sandpaper. Not the fine-grained variety.
Somehow, though, being awakened by a claw in the lip was an appropriate way to start the day. Seeing as the temperature is only 35 degrees, I might have known that when the weather forecast said rain, what would really happen is a snow-sleet mixture. Snow-sleet on May 12. With a stiff wind out of the north.
Now that I think about it, I suppose that's why Bobby-Cat wanted to go outside early this morning. She probably wanted to get in at least one excursion before the bad weather hit. Right now, she's curled up in the bedroom, on the chair by the heat vent where I have put a soft blanket for kitties to sleep on.
I have noticed cats and dogs are smarter than people in some respects. When the weather is warm and sunny, they want to be outside to explore and play or just to enjoy the sunshine. When the weather is cold and rainy, they want be inside where they can curl up and sleep through the bad weather.
Sounds like a fine idea to me.
LeAnn R. Ralph
P.S. Looking for a good book to read? You've come to right place!
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