Saturday, April 07, 2007

Of Wild Geese and Snowy Skies..

The photo above is from the butterfly garden last April 6th.
And this photo is from the same garden yesterday.

A few days ago, April's full moon rose as round and bright as always, but I could not see it through the banks of heavy cloud that have filled our skies for most of April thus far. My favorite source for moon names, from Sharon Lovejoy's book Hollyhock Days, calls April's moon The Wild Goose Moon. This seems appropriate to me, for we have been seeing wild geese these past few weeks. They fly overhead, proclaiming their arrival in noisy, gladsome chorus. They land in the fields along with pairs of Sandhill cranes, providing an entertaining focal point as we peer through our windows in the late afternoon hours. I have not seen them in the last four days of blizzard-winds and heavy snowfall.

The red-breasted robins also returned to our northern climes a couple of weeks past. Since the blizzard arrived, the robins have been congregating near the edges of the paved back roads and highways. The snow melts faster on those dark road surfaces. Perhaps the robins are seeking heat or hoping for a morsel of food, which the frozen snow-covered ground cannot provide. I have never seen this behavior by robins... the congregating or the lingering at the roadsides. We will be happy when the snow melts and Mr. Wiggles (our name for the first robin to visit our property each year) and his friends can seek their worms amid the greening grass and flowers in our fields.

6 comments:

Patty said...

We had snow too and that is so rare for us here in North Texas. I worried about my fruit, but it never got below freezing.
Spring is such a beautiful time of the year

Marcie said...

Patty, I couldn't believe it when I saw the weather forecast for snow in northern Texas. The photos on your blog of snow on the blossoms were gorgeous. I guess, since your fruit is fine, that it was fun to experience a touch of winter in the early days of spring! I was worried about some of our buds too. We'll see how they fared!

Creative Life Studio said...

Oh, I'm sorry about your weather and hope things will be greening up soon. You know, some sandhill cranes live here year round and others head farther north. Cardinals too. I sometimes wonder, when they have the choice, why they'd choose the colder temps.

I think your theory about the robins seeking heat by the roadside is a good one. I'm sure the asphalt absorbs more heat.

Here's to sunny, snow-melting days!

Marcie said...

Mrs. Pivec, Well, the robins are back in our yard and garden. We still have a lot of snow, but also great big patches of green. So things are looking up! (I'm not going to pay attention to the forecast for tomorrow which is calling for an inch or two of snow!) *grin*

Anonymous said...

Imagine my joy when I saw that you mentioned my beloved old book Hollyhock Days in one of your postings.

I so enjoy reading your blog and feeling a part of your "Quiet Country House." Keep up the wonderful writing.

If you have a moment please visit my new blog, which we just got up and running a couple of weeks ago. Go to my website www.sharonlovejoy.com.


Garden blessings,

Sharon

Marcie said...

Sharon, And imagine my joy when my favorite garden writer left a note on my blog! :)

I have had a peek at your blog but haven't had a chance to comment. I'm looking forward to visiting you again! :)

warm wishes,
Aisling