I am no longer one who enjoys the cold. I’m a lover of sunny, white cloud, blue sky weather.
Hot and sticky is not something that I complain about. Wet and rainy, as long as it is warm, I have no complaints about. As a matter of fact, the pitter-patter of raindrops on the skylight over my computer desk is like music to my ears. The fact is, I like to walk in the rain. It gives the visor, that I continually wear, a chance to prove itself. Raindrops on your glasses tend to put a slant on 20-20 vision.
As I sat pondering the writings not yet written, I could hear the chur-chur-chur of a pair of bluebirds that have taken up residency very close to our house. This past week to 10 days, they’ve been making multiple trip after trip, catching the creepy-crawlies they find in our short-cut lawn. They were feeding their first clutch of young that were hatched in a house that we have staked out in our garden. But the young fledged a couple of mornings ago, and the parents have been spending their time teaching them how to find their own food. Our short-cut front lawn seems to be the ideal spot.
But as I watched later in the day, I saw the male bluebird with a mug full of dead grass. He was obviously building a nest for a second clutch. I watched as he headed for, and entered, a house that we had placed on a short section of rail fence less than a stone’s throw away from the building I raise my canaries in.
When he returned to stuff some more goodies into the gaping mouths of his waiting young, I tiptoed over, removed the lid of the house, and took a quick peak in. My guess was correct – he had the bottom of the cavity well covered with last year’s dried grass. I suspect there will be four or five blue-speckled eggs laid there this coming week.
We are quite fortunate in not having to cut the back 40 acres of pasture grass. This has allowed both the meadowlarks and the bobolinks to nest and raise their young without being chopped by the mower or tedder. Early cutting of hay crops have endangered both these birds in many areas.
There is little more pleasant than to listen to the bobolink singing his bubbly song as he flies high overhead and to watch the meadowlark throw back his head and sing his happy song from the top of a nearby fence post.
This past week I have found the warm, sunny weather to be completely enjoyable. I have been outside each day painting white the many posts of the fence extending our paddock. With both bobolink and meadowlarks nesting in the immediate area, they have left me not lacking in music that pleased my ears.
It is summertime folks, so enjoy the warm weather.
Take care, ‘cause we care.
barrie@barriehopkins.ca
519-986-4105