Lilacs, Bird Nests and May Day

 

To find the air and the water exhilarating

To be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter

To be thrilled by the stars at night

To be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring.

These are some of the rewards of a simple life.

John Burroughs, American naturalist and essayist

May arrived on the coat-tails of April showers, causing the backyard lilacs to gleam with delicate dew. The lilacs' fragrance mingles with the aroma of raindrop-tinged earth on this May Day morning. It's as though the Earth is celebrating May Day with its basket overflowing.

Though it may not feel like spring with cooler-than-normal temperatures, the backyard flowers and shrubs are waking up from their winter's nap. American naturalist and essayist John Burroughs said it better than me:

Oh, spring is surely coming!

Her couriers fill the air. 
 

Each morn are new arrivals.

 Each night her ways prepare.
 

 I scent her fragrant garments. 

Her foot is on the stair.

John Burroughs, American naturalist and essayist

A bird's nest holds the promise of new life amid spring flowers.

A single robin's egg is a splash of blue in an old evergreen bordering our backyard fuel tanks.

And the bees buzz with excitement, gathering nectar from the lilac bushes.

The smell of moist earth and lilacs hung in the air

 like wisps of the past and hints of the future.

Margaret Miller

Today is May Day. When Jill and Brent were little, we made and delivered May baskets. They are traditionally filled with flowers and treats and left hanging on a friend's or neighbor's front doorknob. Once the basket is in place, the deliverer rings the doorbell and runs off to hide and watch the recipient's reaction.

Randy's folks lived just two miles north of us when Jill and Brent were small, and we often delivered a May basket to them. Their over-the-top reactions always thrilled my little cohorts. It wasn't long until Jill and Brent couldn't contain the "surprise" and burst out from the bushes to greet Grandma and Grandpa.

I suppose I have photos of these events ... somewhere in one of the tubs full of photos. But without a full-blown reconnaissance mission, I didn't locate one (though here's a cute one from that time period).

This year, the lilacs under the old windmill in our backyard are blooming in time for May Day. Some years, they are past their prime by May 1.

The lilacs are not the only nod to spring.

The spirea bush looks like miniature bridal bouquets in a sea of green.

Though we wouldn't have thought about needing rain after 15 inches fell in a month last fall, we are grateful for the 1.70 inches of moisture we've gotten this week. It should knock the dust down as we sort and move cows and calves this afternoon and tomorrow. And it's good on the corn that was just planted, too.

Happy May Day!

A Bird In Hand (Or Nest)

To find the universal elements enough;

to find the air and the water exhilarating;

to be refreshed by a morning walk 

or an evening saunter;

to be thrilled by the stars at night;

to be elated over a bird's nest

or a wildflower in spring ...

these are some of the rewards of the simple life.

                                                             --John Burroughs

I was beginning to think that the old saying, "A watched pot never boils," also applied to watching a bird's nest.

When Randy first discovered the nest in April, there were only two eggs in the nest atop the 4-wheeler ramps.

Then, a few days later, we found four eggs.

Not long afterwards, Randy discovered some delicate blue egg shells at the base of the ramps, and only three eggs were left in the nest. We don't know why one of the eggs toppled to the ground.

We patiently checked the nest every few days, hoping that they would hatch. And they did!

Two of the eggs are now baby birds.

Taken May 8

It's been amazing how quickly they've changed from scrawny, skeletal looking creatures to our feathered friends. We've not sure whether the third egg will hatch, but we doubt it will at this point. (You can see it under the feathers in the photo below.)

Taken May 15 - 1 week later

Initially, we didn't know what bird had laid the eggs. We never saw a mama sitting on the nest.

But now that the babies are hatched, a couple of robins aren't thrilled when I've peered into the nest or moved it to the nearby wheelbarrow for photos. They don't seem to understand that I'm just admiring their handiwork. 

 

Last Friday afternoon, we checked the nest again. As I walked into the shed, one of the babies flew out of the nest!

With its sibling off on an adventure, only one baby still resides in the nest. 

Their parents were none too pleased at the attention we were giving their babies. One led a particularly vocal protest and tried dive-bombing the shed.

Nature is a marvel, isn't it? I took the first nest photos on April 23, just a couple of days after Randy initially discovered the nest. The newly-hatched babies looked like space aliens on May 8. And then, by May 19 - less than a month after we discovered the nest - one robin was already off exploring the world.

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.

Emily Dickinson

Hope is the Thing With Feathers

Life is always a rich and steady time

when you are waiting

for something to happen or hatch.

From Charlotte's Web

E.B. White could have been describing life on a farm in the spring.  Randy has been planting corn. We've again opened the pasture gates that were slammed shut and padlocked last fall. Next week, even more mamas and their babies will begin to dine on tender green grass which blankets the pastures after timely spring rains.

Those scenes are part of the ebb and flow of a spring season on the farm. . 

On Saturday, Randy had noticed a nest on top of the 4-wheeler ramps. He excitedly told me about the two pretty blue eggs nestled inside the precariously perched nest in the storage shed. Since it wasn't at our house, I didn't take time to look that day.

However, on Sunday, we needed those 4-wheeler ramps when we had cattle out. I snapped a few photos of the nest, even with the urgency to get the cattle back to the confines of the fence before church.

Randy gently moved the nest to a nearby wheelbarrow ...

... while we used the 4-wheeler ramps for their intended purpose - loading and unloading into the pickup.

 

When we got back to the shed,  Randy again arranged the nest back on top of the ramps.

 

He hoped that the temporary change of address wouldn't bother the birds.

It's one of the things I love about my farmer. Though his hands are big and rough, he is gentle with children and kittens and bird's nests. No scrambled eggs if he could help it!

On Tuesday, we moved another group of mamas and babies to the Ninnescah Pasture. And we also discovered a surprise. The nest now held four beautiful blue eggs!

We still haven't seen any birds tending the nest. I was hoping for robin's eggs, but my friend, Pam, thinks they are starling eggs since we didn't see a mud cap on the nest. (Neither Randy or I are experts in bird - or egg - identification, and Pam is a good sport to help me out long-distance through photos.)

So the nest and its precious contents remain perched on the metal ramps, above an array of farm necessities like net wrap and 4-wheelers and fence chargers and cattle supplies. And we watch with anticipation.

Hope is the thing with feathers 

that perches in the soul.

Emily Dickinson

Hope can even happen before the feathers. Hope can be bright blue eggs in a cluttered farm shed. It's just what we needed right about now.