DANDELION SEASON

Things are finally starting to green up around here. The willow is leafing out, the lilacs have lots of buds on them, and the grass is greening up and starting to grow quickly--that last isn't necessarily a good thing.

And those little yellow sunspots we call dandelions are popping up all over the yard. Makes a nice contrast with the greening grass.

If you live in the 'burbs you're expected to run right out and kill all the dandelions. Or put crap on that will keep them from coming up at all. But out here in the sticks we're a bit more tolerant of them. They add a bit of color and are far from the worst weeds we have to battle. I've gone through a lot of Roundup trying to keep some of them from taking over everywhere.

Once again I have the urge to plant an acre or so of prairie grasses and wildflowers, but I'd have to kill off all the existing grass--weeds, really--and drill it into the soil. Things would be pretty ugly and muddy for a year or two until the prairie plants got going good.

There's also the issue of a pond, which I want to put in in the worst way. These days with the laws the way they are, the SWCD does the deciding on where you can put it and how it's going to be done. So there's no point wasting time and money starting a little prairie if I'm going to have to rip it out to put in a pond.

SECOND DAY OF SNOW--MUST BE BASEBALL SEASON

For two days now we've had lake-effect snow. At times the squalls have been extremely intense, nearly whiteout conditions. The fields are all white--for the moment. Won't last long because it's gonna warm up gradually as the week wears on.

Turned out to be a good day for walking, however, because the snow, wind, and cold kept the bicycle fairies indoors. The dog got to chase a red squirrel--twice. The ditch was nearly overflowing with water from the quarry, so of course the mutt had to get in and splash around.

Had some nice conversations with a couple of Chickadees. They're always fun to fool around with. Then I saw a Tufted Titmouse and figured, why not try conversing with him, also. Well shut my mouth, that bird just went wild. I don't know if he thought I was another male trying to horn in on his territory or if he thought I was a female who sounded damned sweet, but whatever he thought he sure sang like there was no tomorrow. He flew over my head to a tree about 20 feet away and proceeded to sing at the top of his lungs. And he kept on singing even after I stopped and walked away. Interesting.

TOWHEES, TOWHEES, EVERYWHERE

I meant to write this the other day, but I felt like shit when I got back from my walk, so it never got written until today.

As spring gradually creeps forward we're seeing more neo-tropical migrants starting to arrive to join the brave birds that spend the entire year here. Lots more songs to hear and colors to see.

Eastern Towhees are pretty, gregarious birds that are often heard before they're seen. I saw one the other day that I didn't recognize at first because of the way the light was hitting it and also because I wasn't thinking Towhee. They're usually around in the summer and I've never seen them this early.

At any rate, I saw this bird that looked familiar but out of place, then I heard it sing and I knew immediately what it was. I don't claim to know too many bird songs, but once you've heard a Towhee, you'll never forget that lilting drink-your-tea. Once when I lived in Toledo I was walking in one of their Metroparks when I heard a Towhee very close by. He was in a tree, but not terribly high up and he was singing to beat the band. I decided to try to whistle his song back to him, and we had at least a ten minute conversation before one of us--can't remember which--got bored and moved on.

So once I heard drink-your-tea I pulled out my iPhone and fired up birdJam and began talking back to him. As I walked along, he followed, flitting from one side of the trail to the other. At first I thought there was but one bird, but then I saw three within about 40 feet and heard others a bit farther away. I'm guessing there were at least five Towhees in about a 100 yard patch.

Some birds respond to canned calls, while others don't seem to like them. Cardinals seem to be in the latter category. I've called male Cardinals any number of times and they always seem to fly away rather quickly. Chickadees, on the other hand, will almost always respond. They're curious little birds and have little fear of people and many of us have had them eat out of our hands. I'm convinced if I held my iPhone out flat and stayed perfectly still a Chickadee would eventually land on it to see where that singing was coming from.