The Sights and Sounds of Spring. . .

  I think Spring is finally here. It took awhile for her arrival to be solidified. Like every other season in Missouri she always has the option to  leave at a moments notice. Years ago I remember we had a six inch snow on April 11, 1978. It was gone by late the next day as warm air moved back into our state. Seasons in Missouri slip in and out like an old used grease gun.

  Last night was beautiful. We went outside about 7 p.m. and put our fire pit to work. We sat in our swings, that desperately need new cushions, and listened to the sounds of the night. The tree frogs and the frogs at the pond were in rare form. They were still singing when we returned to the house a couple of hours later. 

  We were listening for the turkeys to fly up and roost. They usually gobble at that time. This gives a hunter the advantage the next morning to know what area they are in. On a quiet night for about three weeks the sound of turkeys is part of the nightly routine. They are ready to mate. Unfortunately for some turkeys, gun season arrives on Monday and will last for three weeks. They had better not play the field looking for a better looking hen. They need hurry up and mate with the first hen they see before they are some person's fried turkey nuggets. This is Tommy's favorite season to hunt. Thank God I do not have to go! We have been down that road together and it was not a pretty sight to see. He will never make a hunter out of me and I will never make a reader out of him. That works for both of us.

  As we sat there in the swing, we heard about six or seven gobblers fly up to rest for the night. As the turkeys became quiet the cardinals took over the chorus. They were close to where we sat and very loud. I watched a pair of Cardinals for about five minutes. The male was a vivid red and singing unusually loud. The female of the pair, more muted in color, walked as far away from him as she could get without flying off. In my imagination she was ticked off at her mate and had no desire to hear what he had to say. He was aggravated at her for not being enthralled with his song. Both flew off in the same direction. I guess they worked it out. 

  Our hummingbirds are late this year. I have only had a couple of scouts visit our feeders. I bought new feeders and I am not positive they like these feeders. I would put my old feeders out if only I could remember where I put them. I think they are in my corner of the garage---but I wouldn't swear to it. 

   We fed the squirrels all winter and never once saw them eat at the corn cob feeders Tommy had made earlier in the summer.  We enjoyed them nibbling on the corn cobs never leaving a piece of corn uneaten. Every morning we replaced the old cobs with new ones to be eaten while we weren't looking. Last night three of them romped through the trees almost as if they were trapeze artists, near our swing. It seemed like the big maple tree by the swing leafed out almost overnight. That is their favorite place to play.

   We have several rabbits, who are enjoying eating my Day Lilly leaves. One popped out of the leaves and was as surprised to see us as we were to see him.

   Just as the fire was dying down and we were in the process of going inside, we heard two coyotes howl in the distance. We no longer hear coyotes as much as we used to. In 1978, they howled so close to the house it sounded like we were about to be attacked by Indians. Farmers have thinned the population of coyotes down to about a third of what we used to have. They had to do this to protect their livestock and new born calves. It was a nice surprise to hear them again.

   All in all it was a delightful Spring night. Nature's playlist is beautiful and long. I never tire hearing the night sounds of life out in the middle of nowhere.