Rare Birds

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Winter ended late in up here in tall timber country. Even if you drive from the Dakotas due East, it's still "Up North" and opening weekend of fishing season.

Been a good bit of talk hereabouts that the late April snowstorms that turned 60-degree days into 18-inch snow blankets were tough on the wildlife. Certainly the pines and birches took their share of damage. Broken branches, bent over tree trunks, some split and splintered beyond repair.

But it's spring, and spring can be a great healer.

Already, in just one day we've seen trumpeter swans, and a kingfisher, and evening grosbeaks and rose-breasted grosbeaks, and loons on the lake, with mallards and wood ducks, and scaups, and bluejays, and a downy woodpecker, and purple finches, and purple martins, and... and most are paired up. Romancin', looking for likely nesting spots.

Some are birds just getting established in the area, like the swans, ranging out from the Tamarack Wildlife refuge. And some are old friends we feared had gone away like the buffalo back in the late 1800s. But the evening grosbeaks are back, their brash, bright yellow makin' sunshine on this overcast spring day.

The natural world's got a parallel in the political world this crisp evening. Birds migrating north again...voters migrating back to their Democratic home. Some signing on and registering for the very first time in their lives. Inspired by a rare bird who's callin' hope.

Even the hummingbird is back from South of the border, drawn in by the bright red cap on the sunflower feeder, but lookin' for a little sweet sugar instead. We weren't expecting him so soon, but here he is, and already we've got the syrup simmering on the stovetop.

Spring's back at long last, and we're going to make the most of it, renewing the well, replenishing the feeders, planting the seeds...for the good harvest in the fall.

Kickin’ Back

Something there is—do I have to footnote that?—about a weekend. For a few folks—Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bill Keller, John McCain come to mind, oh, and toss in a bit of Boll Bennett and rightwing ranters who shall remain nameless because we refuse to give them any further publicity on what’s turned into a typical Beltway contretemps of spin, deflect, and denial—this weekend won’t be different than the rest of the week.

But for the rest of us, the weekend’s a perfect opportunity to kick back, reflect and rejuvenate for the week to come.

Renew the well.

Now that the campaign season seems to be pretty much a 24/7/365…have the candidates for 2012 announced yet? And who are they blaming?

Yeah, me, too. It started too damned early and it’ll last too long, and it’ll be too nasty and nobody will be satisfied for long and….

There’s something to be said for stepping back.

Put on your cuddle-duds and your boots and your jacket and cap and venture out into the fresh air. Had any lately?

I’m heading back out into the sunshine, the bracing mid-20s temperature (hey, after record minus-thirtyish temps just days ago, this is downright tropical…almost…), whistling for the spaniels, stoppin’ in my tracks, and raising my face to just bask in the moment.

How about you?

At the cabin I turn to a fun little book, If My House Were on Fire…These Are the Recipes I’d Take by Lori Powell Gordon. You’ll find this kind of combination of recipes and family nostalgia and fun under various titles in gift shops in touristy country just about anywhere.

But instead of recipes, I assemble moments in my mental spiral-bound book. And today will be one…chickadees at the bird feeders, a downy woodpecker overcoming shyness to zero in on the suet feeder, ice houses out on the snow-covered lake in a necklace chain right where the lake bottom drops away, the low hum of snowmobilers for undernotes.

A moment to kick back and savor… and save for a day when you need to pull out a moment.

Had any lately?