Sunrise from my front door March 2008No winter lasts forever; no spring skips it's turn.
Hal Borland
The first day of spring has arrived and while the temperatures, wind and sky today deny the fact, and there is nothing vernal to be seen, the words of Hal Borland are true. The axis has changed and the further north you move, the faster the days will lengthen. It is reckoning time for those long, dark winter afternoons and evenings. One benefit of blogging is ability to review the past record of seasons and events. This winter has been interminable but looking back on last year, it is recorded that we had snow cover and cold temperatures in March as well.
And spring did come.
Yesterday we watched the male Northern Cardinals on the very uppermost branches of the bare trees singing and flashing their bright colours in territorial display. Crests up and tails spread, they competed for space and female attention. A pair of Coopers Hawks were watching nearby from the underside of a tall pine tree as the vulnerable songbirds performed. But the spring songs had to be sung despite the danger of being in the open.
What is your spring song?
I love the hymn For the Beauty of the Earth, with its clean lines and simple melody along with words celebrating joy. Happy Spring!
ReplyDelete"For the beauty of the earth
ReplyDeleteFor the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise."
great song Beth...hope spring arrives soon for you too!
I think our spring is still buried.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is buried here too, but not as deeply as yours is. That is why I had to look up to see the signs of spring.
ReplyDeletewhat a beautiful sunrise photo.. lovely to see
ReplyDeleteHappy Spring to you!
Happy Spring! Nice shot of that cardinal, too! :)
ReplyDelete(Found your blog via hedgewitch)
I love the colours in your sunrise. A beautiful view to wake up to!! The cardinals are always pretty. Nice to see you back.
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice picture of Mr. Cardinal, Ruth.
ReplyDeleteWe had a lovely first day of spring here too. I got to see and hear my first Killdeer of this year. That was a nice spring song.
It's definitely the sounds of the Cardinals... Many of them in competition - blazingly bright red. Love it.
ReplyDeleteOh Ruth - I too have watched my brave little songsters defying the waiting hawks.
ReplyDeleteToday my Spring song was the Mourning Doves who were cooing to one another for the first time.
Lovely, lovely Cardinal picture.
Hedgewitch- Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
ReplyDeleteDave- Nice to meet you too. Hope you enjoyed spring today.
April- I doubt I will be out and about for many sunrises now. They are getting earlier and earlier.
Ruthie- I had seen Kildeers in the field near our home by this time last year. But the field is covered in knee deep snow now so I haven't been out to check on them.
Mary- Your Cardinals are much more sociable than ours, all sitting in a tree in your yard. I never see more than one pair in an area at at time.
Cathy- The cooing doves are a good spring song too. I saw a pair in our yard tonight, but didn't hear them. (The wind is howling too loudly!)