Lorelei's Small Adventure

Myrtle Warbler courtesy of Darrell Coquillette
of Friends of Afton

Hi guys. Well, I have had a day. I needed to get outside because this weather is just too fabulous to pass up.

And since I live within the forest preserve, I wanted to get out there and do a little birdwatching. My husband and I had gone out in the park earlier, and did our "managing" duties of cleaning up after people. Discovered some maniacs actually tried to start a fire! The fire danger is very high right now and we have alot of long grass that wasn't burned this spring. Not a good idea!

After being out on the wetlands, and seeing different waterfowl, I wanted to get back out there after lunch, by myself and identify a few birds.

The wind kicked up after lunch. So, that limited me to staying close by, which was fine. I wanted to just get out there by myself. I hauled a backpack with everything I needed, and a fold-up chair that I could carry too.

Once I got close enough to the water I got rewarded by spying two water birds walking around in the shallows. This is a wetlands, and since they've built it we have had a lot of different types of birds flock to the waterways. Mainly Canadian geese, and the malards, but other birds come here too. So, I hunkered down, got out my spy-glasses and zoomed my feathered friends in. I believe they were Yellowlegs, but don't know if they were the Lesser or Greater. They look almost the same and their habitats over-lap.

Across the water, I saw a couple of people making their way down the path that lead to a levee. I knew they wouldn't be able to get very far, as there is no bridge there. I was surprised to see anyone out in the park at around noon on Easter Sunday. *shrugs*

I packed up and hiked a little further, following a path into the wooded area. They had cleared out some areas, but had left the woods to the west edge. This pathway skirted the old nursery. (see picture below)

I found a nice spot, slipped my folding chair out of its bag, got my binoculars out, bird book ready and again was rewarded by spotting in a maple tree that was just putting out leaves, a Myrtle  warbler. Very pretty. with yellow, black and white markings (picture above/credit). I had not yet seen this warbler (or any really, this spring), this season. So, pat myself on the back. I then saw two males together, flitting through boughs and branches hunting for bugs.

And then I had to make lemonade--bad!

So, I hiked back up to the house. Did my business and got back out, but I went into the old nursery. I had discovered this spot behind all the sheds and realized I could sit there, no one would know where I was if I didn't tell them. I got comfy and jotted down things in my journal. Wanting to get back to nature and enjoy the outdoors again, I felt that this would be the spot to do it.

And then I started thinking if I were to cut some low-growing branches on a few trees and clean up fallen branches here and there, I'd have a clear pathway further in. Where I was the finest, thinnest grass grows. A little further in and to the right a bunch of raspberries grow wild. I could pick till the cows came home. While sitting there I felt like I was a million miles away. I could ponder a lot just sitting there.

But, my desire to clear out the area took over. I strode further in, where the white pine trees made an impenetrable wall of sweet-smelling pine, and under the line of walnuts and considered walking up to the garage and grabbing a few tools to cut and saw.

Then, my husband made his whistle to me. There he was standing on the perimeter. I told him "C'mon in!" I showed him what I wanted to do. He got excited and wanted to help me--actually didn't want me to do all that cutting and lifting all by myself (worried for me, as always).

So he helped me with the sawing and cutting and lugging branches over to a spot where we made a wall so no one would be able to see in once things grew in and greened up. He even suggested that he could take the small mower inside one spot and mow down the grass so that I could sit there.

He didn't do that today. He did plenty of work over the weekend. This wasn't something he really needed to add to his busy weekend. In fact this morning while we were out at the spillway, looking at where they've proposed to put in a bridge, I turned around, and he wasn't there. I looked down. There he was on the ground. He'd stepped into a big hole! He was okay, but worried about jarring his neck and he did get a headache right after.

barn on Afton Forest Preserve property - to the
right is a portion of wetlands (after a controlled burn)
to the far right, beside barn is the old nursery
our house sits behind the barn.

So, that's how I spent my afternoon. And we came back up--exhausted (in a good way), and had ice cream with the strawberries we bought, and ate that. Our dinner was cooking away in the crock pot: Swiss steak. Yum!

Permission to Relax

Having a week off makes me want to retire NOW. I have been getting up at 5:30 or once 6 a.m.! And can stay up as long as I want, but I get sleepy around 8:30. I think it might be the time change thing.

Our weather has cooperated for once. Can you believe it? Yesterday it hit 80! We've seen 77, 78, and 79 all week long. These are records for Northern Illinois for March. We shouldn't see anything over 54 degrees.

So, since the weather was so wonderful, and we can wear shorts, I spent a couple of hours outside enjoying it. I took my bird book and binoculars and was able to get into a wooded area to find a golden crowned kinglett. Might not be of interest to most people, but I've been a bird watcher all my adult life and I do believe this was a first sighting. I was thinking I had a warbler, as these are very small, very quick birds that flit and jump from tree-limb to brush and back to tree limbs. You can't identify one of these little guys w/o something that brings them in close. I can't imagine trying to take a photograph of one! I caught the identifying markings--and lack of certain other markings--and was able to find him in my book.

Why was this important to me? This is a relaxing mode for me. I have not been able to do this in a long while, merely because I've been working so damned hard on writing and getting a WIP done, that taking a couple of hours off in the day to NOT write seemed like an impossible idea. I would love to have a lap top, it would free me from the dark room which is my office. Up until the bugs begin to bug me, that is, and it becomes too hot outside. But still, it would be nice to have that freedom.

It's important to give yourself permission to relax. You need to go and do something else, not thinking about writing. You can suffer from burn-out if you don't do something like this once in a while.

On Wednesday, my husband and I drove to a state park to have a picnic and do some hiking. That was a wonderful time of R&R. We enjoyed the warm weather and my potato salad and fried chicken. It will buoy us through the next few weeks of work. The memories will give me something to think about, and smile at.

Me relaxing in the backyard

So, give yourself permission to relax. You deserve it. More importantly, if you don't, you'll find yourself burned-out and won't know how to get back the momentum again.

The Beginning of the End (of winter)!

Yesterday, my husband brought my attention to dozens of American Robins roosting in trees around campus as we drove our buses. I looked up to where he'd pointed as we passed--me turning into a drive, and he turning out--and I saw them. Roosting high in a locust tree. And then in around this turn-around, there are crab apple trees and there they were nibbling on the frozen, shriveled up crab apples. Dozens of them were in different trees, some flying down to the stream to get a drink.

The other day I saw Cedar Wax Wings, and one robin doing exactly the same thing along my route. I knew that the beginnings of spring had been felt by these feathered friends. And that is what the month of February is all about. The awakenings of spring in the northern Midwest.

Contrary to belief, the American Robin does not fly south for the winter. They are a hardy bird and can withstand very cold temperatures. What they actually do is congregate en mass inside forests, and where they can feed on berries and yes, crab apples that have dried up. We see them appear on our lawns, and think that this means spring is here. The robins already know this. And for these guys to come out with the two feet of snow still on the ground does say something about our coming out of the bitter cold and finally seeing an up-swing of temperatures. This coming week we will see the thirties, and even a 40 degree mark. By golly, we'll think it's down right hot out!

My husband has been feeding the birds in our backyard this past week. Well, everyone is showing up, of course. The squirrels are finding the peanuts, and so are the Jays, and I think everyone is happy, now. The blast of sub-zero temperatures was really horrible, and we went and bought a large bag of seed for both song birds, cardinals and the other critters who needed the food to stay warm through this. It is, after all, National Bird Feeding Month.

Now, the birds who actually do tell me that winter is over are the red wings and grackles. The red wing males--black birds the size of a robin with red epaulets on their shoulders--are the real call of spring. When they come around, you know it because they will sit up high in large groups singing--the sound will fill the air, and it makes my heart jump for joy.

Grackles are a longer, larger bird, the size of an oriole. They have iridescent feathers, very long tails, and beaks, and yellow eyes. When they come to patrol the ground for food, then you know Spring is here to stay. I look forward to seeing all these guys soon. The earliest I have seen these birds has been in February of 1999, when we had 70 degrees and stayed warm all winter. That was an odd year to be sure.

But we will see if the groundhog theory holds true. He did not see his shadow--in fact they had to cancel the up-rooting of this fellow because of the blizzard! So, let us put it to the test:Spring comes early?