April’s reputation as a changeable, capricious month is well established, but it seems to have been particularly fickle this year. Each suggestion of spring was followed by a wintry interlude. Our early garden bloomers—hyacinths and daffodils—spent more time weighed down by snow or encrusted by frost than with their cheerful heads held high. After admiring … Continue reading Hoping for Spring, Hoping for Earth
Happening upon this “abandoned” fawn at a small rural cemetery, I wasn’t tempted to call the Division of Wildlife, but I was overcome with sufficient anxiety about its well-being to be able to relate to concerned citizens who do. Or worse, who pick up the baby deer and take it home, or to a rehab … Continue reading Spring Babies
Among our migratory birds, one of the more color- and cheerful representatives is the Western Tanager. As the name implies, it does not typically frequent the eastern part of the Americas, but from its winter quarters in Central America or Mexico journeys to US states and Canadian provinces west of the Great Plains, where it … Continue reading Here Comes The Sun
May of 2020 has gone down in my personal record book as the birdiest month ever—186 different avian species enriched and enlivened my spring beyond the wildest expectations. This number included both resident as well as migratory birds, both birds previously known to me, as well as a few new ones—lifers, as we birders like … Continue reading Spring Migration
Whatever disheartening sadness and unspeakable tragedies May and June might have held, those are not the only realities, thank goodness. The recent months also brought lengthening days with copious sunshine, alongside the reappearance of myriad plants and animals. This new or renewing life in nature’s multiple sphere’s affords gratuitous and gratifying glimpses for those of … Continue reading Flower Power
tanja britton 