Thursday, March 13, 2008


Well, here was a nice change of pace, when the new rental provided a pleasant surprise this morning, in the form of this unexpected hyacinth.

I think it's a hyacinth, anyway, but the leaves do seem odd somehow. I'm not sure if there's maybe some sort of miner bug inside, or if the chevron marks are just damage from pushing up from such a rough area. Until a week or so ago, the bunny cage was located here and so it was pretty high traffic spot.

Anyway, I'll keep an eye on it to see what it will be, and also clear out the area around it, in case it's part of a larger garden grouping that wasn't visible in the fall when we landed here. I think I see a few money plant seedlings in there, too.

I've mentioned the bird song in general before. It's just amazing how it suddenly increases as the days grow longer and it's time to find a nestmate and all.

There's a woodpecker who seems to enjoy banging on the side of our house in the morning. I've tried a few times to get a photo of him doing it, but he doesn't hang around long enough when I appear. Next time I hear him, I'll try to sneak out the front door and walk around.

The cardinal songs are especially notable, and easy to pick out from assorted other members of the Morning Bird Chorus. I seem to hear them everywhere, all happy and optimistic. I'm not unhappy with it as a soundtrack choice. (That said, I'm sure there's a gloomy Gus or two around who'll say they sound just like a car alarm. I do know from experience that it's a sound I love when I hear it in the Wild, but don't enjoy quite so much when it's created artificially from a Christmas ornament.)

We've got at least two pair of them in the yard in Harwich. This male cardinal, however, was singing outside the restaurant in Orleans as I left early this evening. I think I heard another one across the bank parking lot singing in response...or perhaps in competition.

Below is the view off our back porch around 7:30 this evening, looking through the sassafras branches. Isn't it funny how you just automatically hear the Theme From Tara in your head, or is that just me?

I hope the next image reads clear on your monitor. It's dark enough that any difference in settings between my computer and yours could mean the difference in it being kind of cool or a muddy mess. (I'll hope you think it's the former.)

I was a bit taken with the patchwork quilted look the clouds had overhead and since I had the tripod, I gave it a shot. The real trick was timing it to catch the moon's sudden reappearance through the cracks in the clouds.

For those of you pining for spring (and really, who isn't at this point?), MSN has a great article about garden tours and hidden gardens in a few different parts of the country. You can see if any are near you here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The cardnal was my mother's favorite bird. Nice catch.

Butch