Hmmm, is it just the impatience bred by a restless, worrisome world or is the first exhale of May even sweeter this year?
Spring has finally taken hold as a cool, grumpy and rainy April dissolves into the more welcoming graces of May. The impatient trees and bushes, barren but for a few optimistic buds a week ago, have burst out into chartreuse abundance.
The shrieks and squeals of children filter through my window. Apartment dwellers emerge from their winter hibernation to take leisurely evening strolls. And, near and dear to my heart, the spring migration – half-hearted in the fickle moods of April – kicks into high gear.
I find it difficult to concentrate on the same old, same old routines of work as Second Marsh beckons with the promise of a resplendent May weekend. The paths I know so well, every twist and turn, every looping side path, are etched into my brain.
First a check of the wet fields behind the parking lot in hopes of flushing a Snipe, with its improbably long bill and striped head, into its zigzag flight.
Ducking up under the rope fence for a stroll up the cut grass trail. Butterbutt yellow-rumped warblers will be plentiful with their loose, excitable trill. Tail-bobbing Palm Warblers are a safe bet low in the bushes or on the ground with their telltale chestnut cap. And perhaps the first sun-cloaked Yellow Warblers with their rusty streaked breasts.
A minute or two up the trail brings me to Jim`s Pond where I must pause to scan for ducks. Mallards for certain and likely some gray backed, black-rumped Gadwalls. And, if I`m quite lucky, the regal garb of a Green-Winged Teal – the distinctive white bordered, green swatch against a chestnut head.
A glance sideways at the swallow nest box. Any Purple Martins cavorting with the ever present Tree Swallows? Perhaps not yet. A mental note to check on the way back.
Moving on up the gravel trail as it splits and circles around the Crabapple Trees. The emphatic tee tee tee, tew tew tew confirms that the tireless Ruby-crowned Kinglets are in their usual haunt in the Cedars where the trail splits again.
Left at the split into the second growth woods. Listening for the zee zee zee zoo zee of Black-throated Green Warblers and the languid warble of the drab but untiring Warbling Vireos. Remember to check the brambles and thickets for skittering Winter Wrens.
Around the bend to the marsh which will be high this year with the heavy rains. Great Blue Herons stalking the shallows on their stilt legs. Perhaps a snow-white Great Egret or two for contrast. Gregarious Coots with their bobbing heads on slaty, chunky bodies. And there, a pair of Blue-winged Teals with the male’s unmistaken Nike white slash in front of the eyes.
Doubling back through Cool Hollow where I would be quite content to lie down and sleep if not for what still lies ahead. The slow, sweet trill of Swamp Sparrows along the marsh trail. Scanning the far side of the marsh for spike-billed Mergansers. A smattering of warblers in the clumps of trees and a quick detour to scan for a shy Green Heron on the storm pond.
Climbing the viewing tour to scan for Little Gulls which I’m unlikely to see anywhere else this spring. Too early for their black caps so I’ll have to look for the blackish underside of the rounded wing.
It’s still only midmorning at this point. So much more lies ahead. But I must linger a moment and revel in May’s loving embrace. May is my never failing, always thrilling, faithfully repeating metaphor for renewal and regeneration.
I am born again each May and eternally will be. Thank God for May!
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
~ Follow Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm regularly at this site. Categories: Shifting Winds, Sudden Light, Deep Dive, Songs of Nature, Random Acts of Metaphor. Originating at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2.
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Tags: ducks · May · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · migration · Second Marsh · sparrows · spring · vireos · warblersNo Comments