April 11 -- The Return

Change is in the air. The return of life shows itself. Beneath matted leaves the evergreen creeping phlox and the tulips emerge. The grackles have returned. The dark-eyed juncos are gathering in greater numbers. And the sun is finally warm to the skin.

As I opened the back door, it was there, the other object of my spring thoughts, on the picnic table, now clear of snow and ice and shelled sunflower seeds. Chip-Chip was back. He was skittish at first, but after a few minutes he re-emerged from the knothole in the deck and checked me out. He then gathered the peanuts I left on the floor. It will probably be a few weeks before he jumps into my lap and settles in for a daily feeding. Maybe not. Then another ritual began. As I fed the chipmunk, the grey squirrel bounded on the deck, expecting to be fed as well.

Some things never change . . .

February 2009

This blog has been dormant, much as the chipmunks have throughout the winter, although hints of spring--the occasional day above freezing--may mean that the chipmunks may soon emerge from their burrows, perhaps in another eight to ten weeks. Will any reappear around here?

In the meantime, cardinals, chickadees, finches, nuthatches, and sparrows have routinely visited the feeders. Rarely, a red-headed woodpecker has made a dramatic appearance. The bluejays have been whisking off the peanuts, and the squirrels, in their heavy winter coats, swipe whatever food the birds are tardy in fetching. Finally, the rabbits have remained camouflaged by evening's low light and their secretive hiding places, betrayed only by their tracks mingled with those of the squirrels and by the remains of their twig and bark meals.

Say no more . . .