Early Bloomers

I took a short walk this cool March morning and found a few early bloomers....

Texas Bluebonnet

Evening Primrose (I think.)

Prairie Verbena

Goodbye Winter Birds

My blog entries indicate that I am most excited by the prospect of changing seasons. But when the change occurs it is often tumultuous and jarring. Part of me regrets enjoying the comforts of my indoor space while nature was left out there, unexplored. What glorious winter experiences have I missed because of this seasonal aversion? Another part longs for sunshine and sweat, shorts and watermelon slices.

I do know that I will miss the winter birds. I will miss the gregarious cedar waxwing's winter berry indulgences, the incessant chirps of the yellow-rumped warbler, and the cautious but inquisitive swamp sparrow. Happy migrating, little birds!

Cedar Waxwing

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Swamp Sparrow

Winter Birding

I've decided to come clean with you, dear reader. Winter birding is just not for me. Here's what I mean:

From this graph you can see as the temperature rises I tend to enjoy birding much more. However, enjoyment tends to level off in the 70º to 90º range, and sharply declines at temperatures above 100º. It's all very scientific, really. And it explains my long period of zero blog entries.

I'd like to be outside more often, but I'm afraid this isn't going to happen until the weather begins to cooperate. Meanwhile, here are a few pictures from the last few months....

Wordless Wednesday

Another Quote, If I May

"Watch any plant or animal and let it teach you acceptance of what is; surrender to the now. Let it teach you being. Let it teach you integrity, which means to be one, to be yourself, to be real."

~ Eckhart Tolle in The Power of Now

Giving Thanks

"If I were to name the three most precious resources of life, I should say books, friends, and nature; and the greatest of these, at least the most constant and always at hand, is nature."

~ John Burroughs

Something New

Field Sparrow - Spizella pusilla

A foggy Friday morning. Binoculars cleverly harnessed. Camera slung shoulder side. Pen and waterproof notepad in hand.

Lengthening my inhalations and exhalations, I gaze out onto a small pond. The tall marshy green and brown reeds contrast with the dark unbroken surface of the water. The stillness is mesmerizing. Just how I like it.

Softly walking, I listen. Lured by sounds, I push further, into undergrowth. A dainty deer trail emerges and I find myself next to a body of water I've never noticed before. Surrounded on all sides by dense foliage, I feel a sense of complete isolation. Bird sounds are all around me now; I firmly grasp my binoculars as I whip my head around trying to see them all. Then I gasp. A black-crowned night heron -- a lifer!

Species List

Pied-billed Grebe

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Black-crowned Night Heron*

Black Vulture

Accipiter sp.

American Coot

Killdeer

Least Sandpiper

White-winged Dove

Mourning Dove

Belted Kingfisher

Eastern Phoebe

Blue Jay

American Crow

Carolina Chickadee

Carolina Wren

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

European Starling

Chipping Sparrow

Field Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

Lincoln's Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Common Grackle

House Finch

House Sparrow