I recognize that I am part of a very small handful of people--in fact, I might be the only person--who actually cares about the following, but I thought that I would write about it anyway. It actually seems appropo in so many ways considering all the fertility and fecundity that's occurring all around (and inside) me...
The last two weeks have met me with many signs of spring. Behind our house we have a huge,~80-ft tall weeping willow tree (which I love love love, because weeping willows always intrigued me as a child, and I desperately wanted one and am so glad to have one now). It's really old, as Mrs. G., who's lived in the neighborhood for 40+ years, said it was just as tall when she moved in as it is now. Adam despises it because of all the branches and leaves that it showers on our garage and backyard; I love it because of the wetland microcosm that it provides in our backyard.
Just 3 weeks ago, I heard the first sounds of the American Toad calling from the wetland area surrounding the willow tree. Their calls fill the night air with a constant flutter of chirps, and honestly made me feel a little less lonely prior to Adam's arrival home. Once he came home, it was nice to share the first signs of spring with him, even if he does still hate that willow tree.
Two weeks ago, I started hearing the familiar but rather uncommon (at least to my yard) call of the White-throated sparrow. One can't mistake the "Ollllllld-Saaaaaaaaam-Peabody-Peabody-Peabody" call of this little guy. He's been an annual treat to my backyard for the last three years, singing his heart out for a few days as he passes through on his way further north for the summer. His call is one that is so easily imitated, that I will often whistle back to him to see if he'll take the audio "bait". It's a fun game, but one that I happily lose.
Last week, upon arriving home from work, Adam and I were about to get out of the car when I saw a little yellow bird flitting through the immature white pine in my backyard. I cautioned Adam not to get out of the car just yet; instead, we waited for the little one to get closer, and to my great pleasure and surprise, I found it was a Yellow Warbler! While not rare by any means, I've never had the pleasure of seeing one in my backyard, so it was extremely exciting for me. Adam humored me for a few minutes, but I do believe that even he was a little excited by the sighting of a till-then-unseen bird in our backyard. I'm starting to think our little piece of the rock offers more habitat than I've previously thought.
Yesterday, while sitting outside, I noticed a big fat fox squirrel jumping from limb to limb amongst the trees. I suppose he was getting too close to a grackle nest, however, because a pair started dive-bombing and attacking this squirrel to no end. I was rivited by this scene of backyard wildlife in action. The squirrel seemed to be mocking the threatening advances of the grackles, laughing as they shrieked, panic-stricken as he invaded their territory. Eventually the scene played out and all was quiet again.
I guess I should mention something about bees since I've exhausted discussion on birds...the bumblebees are in full force now. They are all over my weed-infested lawn, perpetuating more weeds for my ever-so-grateful neighbors. I have every intention of digging up the weeds, planting native Michigan flowers and watching my little backyard ecosytem flourish, but for now, limited mobility and increased fatigure are taking hold. Until I regain a bit of my bodily independence and energy, I'll have to enjoy my surprisingly active ecosystem for now.
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