The Early Bird Catches the Moth

The male cardinal has become a frequent visitor to the front of the house by the steps. He announces himself with a “chirp, chirp,” as he quickly cocks his head from side to side and hops about in search of a morning meal.
He seems to like pecking through the cilantro I have been trying to grown in a pot and scratches through the dirt in search of a stray seeds.
This morning he hopped from one little pot to the next abruptly knocking himself slightly off balance. Then he flew off and out of view, re-emerging a second later with a moth in his beak. With one gulp he swallow it whole and flew off into the woodlands.

Promise is Everywhere

The black flies are out in force, and swarm about our heads, but we brave it still because at the same time spring is never more captivating than in these moments…the leaves lime green light up the forest with a glow. Delicate wild flowers are blooming in small patches between rocks, rotting wood, moss and dry leaves and fallen pine needles. Every step brings some new discovery. What is this small bent green thing popping out of the humus…what will it become? Promise is everywhere.

Clusters of Flowers

The purple trillium is dotting the woodlands in shady clusters near the pond and in the uplands - deep scarlet petals droop below bright green leaves when they close up for the night. In the daylight they capture the sun...opening wide.
Violets have migrated to the sandy soil in back of the house beneath the eaves...how did they come to be there? Some are purple with white streaks. The habitat is readjusting itself after two years.
The poly wog eggs have been deposited on green stalks growing up from the pond's bottom. The voices of the frogs are now not quite as urgent. Things are alive again.
On Saturday my husband caught a rainbow trout - one of the fish he stocked the pond with last year. His scales looked like he had been rolled in light green sequins. They caught the sun.

The Singing Again

The frog chorus has begun and soon the pond will be full of the jellies of frog eggs waiting to hatch. The silent pond is singing again. I can even hear their voices through our double paned windows.
Yesterday and today we also cast our fish lines into the water, hoping to lure a trout out of its hiding beneath the rocks and tree branches which many a storm have fallen to the bottom. I caught two branches, and I saw a salamander and the bubbles of something breathing, but no fish.
The weather has been less extreme the last few days.