Observations on Spring

On a typical 5th day of April in gorgeous South Bend, the temperature will reach 56 degrees and there's a good chance precipitation will fall from the sky. Today has been an atypical early April day. The temperature reached 70 degrees with a not a drop of the wet stuff. It's predicted we'll have two more days like this one, then we'll return to more seasonable weather.

With the warmth and the sunshine, Della & I ventured outdoors for most of the day. Our first hint of spring was a visit from the neighborhood hummingbird. It has a reddish head, but that's about all I can describe because it rarely stops moving long enough to take note of additional characteristics. It reminded Della that the time had come to refill the hummingbird feeder.

Our next treat was spotting two bald eagles high in the sky over the Willapa River. The both were gliding very high -- sometimes to the point that they were almost out of sight, even with our trusty binoculars.

I don't know about you, but we both think of bald eagles as one of the most beautiful and majestic of birds. Each time we spot one -- and it's not infrequent near Willapa Bay -- we kind of stop what we're doing and look skyward.

A little bit later, as I was going down the hill to the grocery store, I spotted a crow dunking itself in a puddle. While a crow is not nearly as majestic as an eagle, they are just as interesting nonetheless. This particular crow seemed to be enjoying itself immensely as it would dunk its entire body in the large puddle, then shake out the excess water, only to repeat the dance again. I asked if I could join him, but he said he didn't think the puddle was big enough for the two of us!

The last indication of spring today was a report by our neighbor Leslie that a cougar had chased a gentleman near Miller Pond (just below our house) a week or so ago. The man escaped harm, but it certainly gives us a little cause for concern regarding our cats! Cougar sightings are not infrequent in Pacific County. That should be expected as humankind continues to encroach on their natural habitat.

I have never encountered a cougar in the wild. The closest I ever came was hearing one on the hill above my house when I lived in the Ozark Mountains in northwest Arkansas. Being young and foolish, my dogs and I scampered up the hill to try to catch a glimpse of it. Fortunately, for me, the puma decided it didn't want to see us.