Sunday, March 04, 2007

Bluebirds and Robins

Snowstorms may yet whiten fields and gardens, high winds may howl about the trees and chimneys, but the little blue heralds persistently proclaim from the orchard and the garden that the spring procession has begun to move.
Neltje Blanchan
After a week of hard Nebraska winter, as the temperature climbed with the rising sun, we ventured out for one of our favorite Sunday afternoon drives , in search of signs of spring. And what signs of spring we did find! Waiting, as if watching for us, on the frozen lake top sat a stately bald Eagle. Watching so well that as soon as I lifted my camera for his picture, he spread his regal wings and glided away. Leaving me with an image that will last a lifetime....but not for these pages, yet! After the disappointment of loosing that fantastic picture, we stood a few moments in the quiet, and were soon treated to sounds that really warmed my heart....robins, many of them....sqwaking and squealing, fighting their way back into the midwest, bursting with the sounds so familiar to us and shouting "spring is coming, spring is coming." After laughing at them for a few minutes...and not wasting any precious images on something so common as the spring robin, we continued our drive around the frozen waters of Branched Oak, soaking up the warmth of the sun on our pale winter skin, enjoying the sounds of the wind licking the water and producing waves in the foot wide paths of open waterways there. No snow geese or pelicans graced the stopping grounds as yet...not enough open water, my ever wise travel mate informed me. But around the next bend, funny Canadians and starlings and common teal ducks waddled on the frozen waters, entertaining us for a long while, as we sat there with the windows down and the heater on. As we readied ourselves to go, rolled up the windows and turned the truck onto the rutted pathway out, the brilliant flash of blue halted us....bluebirds, 6 or 7 of them, with their soft dreamy music...singing for no other reason than they had a song to sing! Their musical "hello, we're glad we're back" was my simple joy today...that and a couple of pictures of the beautiful blue and brown birds. What beauty we found in the return of these bluebirds on this brown day in winter.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Aaa! Look at that cute little fellow! He warms my heart, too. Thanks for sharing, B!