19 February, 2017 Switched horses in midstream
Twenty-four hours ago this blog post had a much different look. The title was Daffodils you can hear. But as events unfolded – primarily unremarkable events – I moved in a different direction. I switched horses in midstream, in a manner of speaking.
The main horse I switched in mid-stream was I drove up to Rockingham County this morning to meet some of my family to work on projects at mom’s house. This is what you see when you enter Rockingham from the south on Route 11:
WELCOME TO ROCKINGHAM COUNTY TURKEY CAPITAL
It was hard to leave this morning; Evelyn always has fresh flowers on the dining room table and they were glowing while we ate breakfast:
Doesn’t it look like they’re lit from within? Spectacular flowers to greet a lovely day.
We’re continuing to organize mom’s stuff. This message was in her front porch:
Peace
Anyway, too long of a day, and I have to be up real, real early tomorrow morning. So a few miscellaneous pictures from this week and I’ll (with any luck) be more focused next week. Did I say that last week? I hope not, but maybe. The world will keep turning. Just read the third picture again.
I of course can’t go a week without a Red-tail picture. This redtail flew over our heads as Mackey and Turner and I were driving up Forest Avenue yesterday shortly after noon. It landed in a tree across Forest Avenue from St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. Directly behind Henrico County Firehouse 8. Red-tails are not people tolerant (they’re not tolerant of me, anyway) and it immediately flew across Patterson Avenue and landed in a tree above Bank of America. They don’t like it when I get out of the car, which I did yesterday. It’s still glaring at me in this picture:
They have a distinctly disapproving glare they save for when I get out of the car
Spooked seagull returns to a mid-river rock:
Moments before, an eagle flew over and they scattered. They were just returning:
Still plenty of buffleheads – probably for another month or more. I’m looking forward to seeing how soon the first osprey of 2017 arrives on our section of the James. I want to see how much overlap there is between the spring arrival of the first osprey from the south and the spring departure of the last bufflehead for the north. A few from yesterday:
They’re ever-present at Pony Pasture, but not ever-present on the surface:
I’ll close with my “daffodils you can hear” video. Daffodils are one of many visible signs of spring. Spring peepers are one of many audible signs of spring:
[[This correction just in as of late last night. I misidentified the frogs in the video below as Spring Peepers. My knowledgeable friend Kim informs me they are in fact chorus frogs. We have five varieties of chorus frogs in VA, some rare and some, like this one, common. I believe the sound in this video is being made by the Upland Chorus Frog (Pseudacris feriarum). Thanks Kim! Correct me if I’m wrong again!]]
The other audible sign – that I haven’t yet concentrated on – is the “dawn chorus” of songbirds. It hasn’t begun in earnest yet. But in a month, when the weather breaks and we get a warm night, sleep with your windows open. The birds you hear will boggle your mind. Here’s an informative description of it: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology – Who Sings First During The Dawn Chorus—And Why?
More next week! Have a lovely week! All best,
Jay
NEWFAZE 