May

Springtime

Equinoxes and and solstices aside, here in our section of the world springtime is commonly accepted to be the three months, March, April, and May.  I think of May as the crown jewel of springtime because we see the rebirth of nature coming to fruition in full force.  The early precursors; crocus and early Star-of-Bethlehem  have come and gone, giving way to the daffodils, jonquils, narcissus, and hyacinths. The lilacs are budding and the lily-of-the-valley are sprouting.  The apple blossom buds are swelling and the grass is the greenest green it'll ever be. 

In the woodshed the Robin family have taken up residence in the nest they built last year on the ladder.  I wonder if they are the offspring that grew up there last year.  A couple of the bird houses are being prepared for new nests by wrens and some other small birds I've yet to identify.

Watching over this resurgence of life, from the hibernation of winter, is the statue of St. Francis standing in the flower bed near the back door of our house.  We, my wife and I, his handmaidens, were tiding up; pruning dead wood, trimming and mowing and such as that on this, most recent past, Mother's Day.  Our brood had departed to return to their own nesting sites and the day, being sunny,  was that perfect confluence of conditions  most common in the merry month of May to which we let our hearts soar and revel in the sights, sound and aromas of springtime.

Set aside for the moment were thoughts of nature's other side: the devastating tornadoes that spread destruction across our mid-section last month, and the flooding both here and through the midwest which is also causing death and destruction.  Until...............

rel, calls my wife from the upper flower bed, come 'ere and tell me what this is.  I join her and follow the direction of her pointing finger to the largest bird's nest I've ever seen and inside were two nearly whole eggs the size of pullet eggs.  Obviously a nest interrupted, probably knocked from the high pine tree by the windstorm of a week ago.

After some Google research we've deduced that this nest was that of a family of crows.  And this family will have to wait a year to again pursue the rights (rites; thanks Lynn) of spring, since it's highly unusual for crows to hatch more than one brood a year.

Nature gives us much pleasure, especially in springtime, but she also takes away.