Friday, February 21, 2014

spring is coming!

We've had lots (and lots and lots) of honking geese (and someone told me there are also sand hill cranes in the mix) flying north over our house over the past few days. And dozens of these graceful white ibis have been perched in the trees and wandering around any grassy areas.

One of the most amazing things about living in The Swamp are the birds! Wherever you go year round, they are singing and flying and swimming in the lakes and watching from the trees. We have beautiful birds like the ibis, and lots of beautiful-in-their-own-way birds, like the vultures that are always hanging out in the trees around our church building eating the road-kill armadillos.

I remember sitting in my living room when we first moved here. I had my windows open and I couldn't believe the noise! I'd never heard anything like it. Our apartment was near some woods and a lake, so we had a huge variety of birds and animals making their own sounds all at the same time. It amazed me, and I happily listened to those noises every day.

I also remember when I went out west to visit family last summer, I took a walk in the morning and the mountain air was absolutely silentl. I'm going to miss the birds so much when we move, but there is also beauty in the stillness and peace of the mountains.

Anyway, seeing all these beautiful birds heading north is a good thing because it means it's warming up. It's almost spring! We haven't had even half of the coldness that the rest of the country has had this winter, but I'm SO. excited. to be warm again! Not quite so excited about the sweat that'll come when I carry my heavy baskets around, but I'll take sweat over shivering any day. (just remind me of this in a few months when I'm tired of sweating and wish it was cold outside...)

1 comment:

  1. I love the birds too. I am sure that as you acclimatize back to the west you will start to hear all the beautiful sounds of nature there. I thought there were as many nature sounds here and now that I have been here for a few years I am finding the sounds more and more.

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