Ah, April! Spring has finally found us, if a few weeks late. Today is a balmy, moist kind of day with low, grey clouds that blanket the sky in soft scallops with the hint of rain. I really don't mind the cloudy day, because the air is warm and the breeze is gentle, except for occasional gusts from the south. A storm may blow in tomorrow with severe weather in the forecast, followed by another cold front. So we enjoy today as we have the past couple of nice days.
The country fields and pastures and almost every as-yet unmowed lawn is carpeted in great drifts of purple--masses of flowers known by the homely little name of henbit. It is probably a weed, but a quite attractive one, at that. Some people call it chickweed, mistakenly, I think, because of the similar names.
Today before feeding our own chicks and hens, we diverged along the pasture lane past the pond to check out the waterfowl. Several black and white wild ducks were enjoying the water, some looking on from the sand bar, but with a quick flutter of wings they were airborne after seeing us. There was another flutter of wings from an old tree and I looked to see a large woodpecker, also disturbed by our presence.
As it flew past us, I could see it was bigger than the other woodpeckers that inhabit the trees, its red head bright against it's black and white feathers. Once before I had caught sight of a Woody Woodpecker type bird in our area, maybe a pileated woodpecker. I hope I see this one again.
It is always an event to catch sight of the huge blue heron that frequents the pond. On occasion, his rapid flapping to escape our intrusion is followed by a second great flapping of wings as another heron, obviously a mate, soars above us.
God has made such a beautiful world for us to enjoy. He paints the heavens with an ever changing skyscape, lest we get bored with the same art two days in a row. Just when it seems we can't wait another day for the new season, it arrives with all its special charms. And spring is one of my favorites!
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