Cycles
© 2004 Barrie P. Richardson
I stand and I breathe in the sound and the sight
Of Nature as her elements convene
The wind comes alive and it does unite
With the sun and the forest and snow
On mind’s easel of nature, I paint each soldierly tree,
The colonels of boulders, the captains of sea
They parade in dress kit for the spirit to know
We are blessed with a world built by One we don’t know
As each solstice occurs each in its own turn
When the season’s benign and warm waters return
The sun becomes strong the winter’s dourness gives way
The forest full green, birds sing, children shout as they play
And we who’ve seen so many four seasons
And measure our time in years that we’ve spent
Treasure ever more greatly which nature has sent.
Most compare winter and summer more than
The glorious Autumn the rebirth of Spring
Which times have their glory in color and hue
The leaves in Fall dress, the Spring budding new
Fall offers walks with leaves Maple, and Oak
‘Fore winters white blanket covers all with its cloak
Which gives way to the rains as the warm breezes bring
The Trillium, the Crocus those heralds of Spring.
The Loons they come back, their calls trumpet the night
The days gradually grow warmer to our senses delight
Weeks of spring pass and they merge with the summer
The season gets warm and warm waters return The sun becomes strong and winter’s dourness gives way
To the forest full green, birds sing, children shout as they play
For life in this realm has a treasure which reasons, that
Our life is richer having Nature’s four seasons.
SPRING BIRDS ARRIVING
by June Hitchcox Spring has brought the annual rush of migrating birds, all eager to get to their nesting grounds, establish their territories and start their families. April has special sounds in the woods, including the muffled drumming of the male Ruffed Grouse, as he beats his wings at a "drumming" log, hoping to attract a female. The loud, rapid drumming of Woodpeckers on resonant surfaces - hollow branches, metal drain pipes etc. - establishes their nesting territory. No wood is chipped away in this territorial signal. If a Woodpecker is pecking on your house and chipping away wood, it is likely that there are insects there. Get rid of the insects and the Woodpeckers will stop. Robins and Cardinals may see their reflection in windows and attack the "invader" they are seeing on their nesting territory. They may keep this up for five weeks. Just place something over the window on the outside to stop them from seeing their reflection.
Diane and Larry Jopson, of Caravan Crafts on Highway #28, phoned about their pair of Bluebirds that have been showing up every April 4th for the last ten years to raise as many as three to four broods each year. Their birdhouses do not have the usual round-hole entrance but instead have a horizontal 1+1/8" slot just below the roof line. No other bird species, including Tree Swallows, have been able to get in. When they arrive, the Bluebirds try out each of the birdhouses mounted on Larry's fence posts and choose one to start their first family. Once that brood has been raised, the pair choose one of the other houses. In 2003, they raised four broods. The Jopsons do not use any pesticides on their property. Bluebirds perch on branches to look for insects on the ground, unlike Tree Swallows that catch flying insects. It would be a disaster for the Bluebirds to eat poisoned insects. If you would like to know more about these special Bluebird houses or see the Bluebirds, call the Jopsons at 654-4182.
Thanks once again to all who have shared their birding encounters.
“This isn’t a bird??” Photo by W.A.J.