Spring: patiently awaiting arrivals #phenology

 Within the past few days we've seen our first butterfly of the year, a mourning cloak, we think. Today, starting yard chores, we overdressed and experienced our first overheating of the year. It did feel good after a winter of trying to get warm.

This is a time of year when we end up searching for a spot warm enough to make our sourdough starters happy. During the winter, the upstairs bathroom is the warmest room in the house, especially if the door is kept closed. It's directly above the furnace so the short ducting must have something to do with its ability to serve as a proofing room, except at springtime, when the furnace doesn't run much and the daytime temperatures between inside and outside are almost identical. We'll see if parking the starter crocks in the sunshine on the deck railing helps.

backyard bluebird: April 1, 2017

Photo by J. Harrington

We've been irregularly checking a stretch of gravel road for the appearance of marsh marigolds. None! Nor have we seen signs yet of bluebirds, although at least one year they arrived as early as April 1. We're also awaiting the arrival of rose-breasted grosbeaks, ruby-throated hummingbirds, and Baltimore orioles, as well as hoping for a visit from a scarlet tanager. All may not arrive until a month or so from now, depending on how consistently warm our weather stays. Journey North reports ruby-throated hummingbirds have reached St. Louis and Kansas City in the central part of the country.

Bluebird

by Charles Bukowski

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I'm not going
to let anybody see
you.

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I pour whiskey on him and inhale
cigarette smoke
and the whores and the bartenders
and the grocery clerks
never know that
he's
in there.

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say,
stay down, do you want to mess
me up?
you want to screw up the
works?
you want to blow my book sales in
Europe?

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too clever, I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody's asleep.
I say, I know that you're there,
so don't be
sad.
then I put him back,
but he's singing a little
in there, I haven't quite let him
die
and we sleep together like
that
with our
secret pact
and it's nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don't
weep, do
you?

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