March 03rd, 2022

Spring has sprung here!  YAYAY!    More and more things are blooming very day, trees are leafing out, shrubs are filling in and bird song fills the air.  Ahh Spring ;)  A time of  rebirth, renewal and new beginnings. I love it! 

Spring is famous for so many things: warmer temperatures, the greening up, lots of rain, flowers once again blooming, pollen (achoo!) and baby everythings. We have been seeing so many more birds than throughout the winter.  I mean we always have birds but in the past few weeks there has  absolutely been an upswing.  Birds on the lawn, birds in the trees, birds in parking lots!  They are everywhere!

I don't know if you can tell...but the picture at the top of the page is a photo of a birds nest that has been built in one of the rather large bougainvillea's in front of our house.  I'm not absolutely certain what sort of bird constructed it but I think it was a Mockingbird.  I've been seeing quite a lot of a certain Mockingbird in that shrub and on the courtyard wall right next to the shrub, singing it's little heart out :)

The lawn guys recently trimmed the shrubs back hard in preparation for the spring growth which is the only reason I noticed the nest at all.    And once it leafs out anew and the blooms fill it up, it will once again be invisible.  The only way I will be aware is the presence of the adult birds and if I listen closely once the eggs hatch, maybe I'll hear the babies peeping.

I don't know if you recall but last year we hosted a woodpecker family that chose to build their nestin a dead palm tree in our courtyard that Tim had every intention of cutting down until they showed up.   It was so much fun to watch them build the nest and then eventually see their baby's little head showing up in the doorway. 

They've been visiting again, same tree. 

 But I think that was just a nostalgic visit not a plan to move back in because I also see them going back and forth across our front yard swooping from the large oak in one neighbors yard to the huge jacaranda tree in the yard of the neighbors on our other side.  We may just be the stop in between.  Or perhaps they are treating our tree as if it were their patio?

There are always squirrels around too.  They are such clowns! They chase each other up and down the trees and do death defying stunts on the telephone wires over head.  I know that they are rodents and can be destructive but they are adorable too and therefore forgiven.

So I reckon, in short, I'm enjoying all parts of a beautiful spring and I am going to keep an eye on that nest in the bougainvillea.  Or at least as best as I can.    I am looking forward to whatever other surprise nature has in store for us this season!