10 March 2011 - Wake Up Call

Today I received an unexpected head slap. It is so easy to let your thinking get in a rut. Once that happens it starts ruling your attitude. Oh god, another morning. I don't want to get up. I don't want to go to work. Just let me stay home. Or whatever the moan of the day is.

What happened to me is that I called one of my customers. The receptionist (male) answered the phone this way: "It's a great day to be alive! How may I help you?"  Wow. How does that make you feel any other way but good? It has stayed with me all day. It IS a good day to be alive. Don't forget that! That's even better than the motivational speaker Gale brought in one year for the sales meeting. His mantra was "Nobody can steal your joy."

Speaking of joy, I had some fun driving to work. Every day I pass by a large pond at the edge of a business campus. I usually keep an eye on it for happenings. Today, it was still frozen, but there was a thin skim of water on top. In the middle of the pond were a pair of Canadas. He was shaking his tail feathers and parading around her. She was ignoring him and his antics.

I dove across the road and into a driveway so I could get a picture. I was too far to get a good shot,  but you will get the idea. He was squawking nonstop. Loudly. She was unimpressed.

What I love about this picture is that you can see the reflections of the geese and that you can see the ring around the male where his wings are blowing the water away.

He tired of showing off his rather impressive wing spread and tried berating her. It is hard to see in this small version of the picture, but look closely, you can see his pink tongue sticking out.


Doesn't she look underwhelmed by these advances? The popular wisdom is that Canadas mate for life. They do rather look like an old married couple.


I saw an interesting piece about spring. The article was explaining that the equinox is the traditional first day of spring, but that meteorologists use March 1 as the first day of spring for all record keeping purposes.

I really like the March 1st idea. From all my back-yardiner observations, spring starts long before March 20-21. Here in my yard, on the 10th of March, I have snowdrops in bloom. Daffodils are poking up all over the yard, even coming up through the snow, and they range from little green tips up to 6 inches high. Crocus are showing everywhere. Next to the house where it's warmer, you can even see the bud color. A few are already in bloom and most are ready to burst.  The silver maple buds have been heading toward full bloom since the start of February. Yesterday I noticed the buds are starting to open. So yes, March 1 works for me!

What really says spring to me is when the grackles come back. Every year they are here by March 10. This year I saw the first one on the 8th. This gorgeous male was hanging out in a flock of starlings.  I love how their heads are so irridescent. Mostly they look irridescent green or bronze, but depending how he turned in the sun, he either looked green or blue. You have to love that big bright yellow eye, too. There were also several male redwing black birds in that flock as well. So for me, it's official--it's spring.

I have two spring markers for March 10. First, it is the day the grackles come back, and second it is the day for the first crocus to bloom. I was not disappointed this year. Even though 70% or more of the yard is still covered in snow, I have crocuses blooming. 


Another thing that signals spring starts in February. The tops of willow trees begin to glow with color. I usually see this as I'm barreling down the freeway with no way to stop and get a picture. One day I will probably get in an accident as I tend to grab the camera and try to take a picture through the window while I'm driving. Yes, I know it's dumb. Can't seem to stop myself.

What is interesting about the willows is that the wild willows, the ones in the forested areas glow an intense orangy-red color, while the weeping willows that you find in people's yards or commercial landscaping light up  in golden yellow. 

I have a hard time driving, at this time of year. So much is changing and the subtlety of the colors is amazing. I am always surprised by those who complain about boring drives. There is so much to see if you just look. Circumspice!