5 March 2014 - Spring, Snow and Duck Sex

Spring is almost here. Even though yesterday we had rain, snow, sleet, hail, more rain, and snow that stuck above 6000 feet, it is still feeling like spring. I have snowdrops that have been blooming for two weeks now--undeterred by the snow that piles on them. Yesterday I saw the first yellow crocus and noticed that several foxtail lilies are pushing their fat points out of the ground. 

Today I checked out the raised beds. Last fall I planted four varieties of garlic. All of them are up and are three inches tall.  My large flat-leafed parsley made it through the winter and is unfurling the first little leaves on the edges of freshly chewed middle where a deer ate it down to the nub. Grump. I spent some time reassembling the netting I use for a deer fence. The netting works in the summer just fine, but in the winter, the deer go right through it. The fluorescent orange construction tape hanging in streamers all around doesn't faze them a bit. Hunger wins out over the fence.

Next to the veggie garden there are fresh green crowns of oriental poppies. Many of these were buried under the dirt pile from the construction on the shop, but it looks like they made it through just fine. 

The tree branches are brightening up now as well. Across the street, the neighbor's magnolia has big furry buds covering the limbs. Weeping willow branches are turning bright green. The quaking aspens already have three inch long catkins glistening in the sun. This is wonderful time of year to sit back and contemplate the transformation. 

After all the rain and snow yesterday, today is dry, sunny and in the 50s. It is lulling us into complacency. Tomorrow though, more rain and snow in the forecast. 

I suppose you are wondering about the sex part. Birds are pairing up, building nests and mating.  Earlier this week while watching a pair of mallards,  I wondered what the heck was going on beforeI realizing I was seeing mating behavior. I would not want to be a female duck. 

First, he swims over and starts pecking her on the head. As he pecks her head, she leans forward and gets lower in the water.

As she gets lower he swims on top of her. 

His weight forces her even lower in the water.

He continues pecking her in the head until she is submerged. Guess who is blowing all the bubbles?

Not that I'd ever really thought about the duck procreation process before, but I was certainly bemused. 

And speaking of nesting...I have a piece of patio that cracked 30 years ago when my brother blew a willow stump and its roots out of the ground using black powder. It was an amazing thing to see, but that is a story all of its own.

However, over the years the crack has gotten wider as snow and ice get in and push. This spring I have been watching a squirrel wiggle through the crack. I will trap her soon and make her start over someplace up the canyon, but it has been pretty entertaining. She hauls huge mouthfuls of dried leaves, grass and other nesting material over to the crack and then can't get in. She works and works, rolling up the bundle of leaves, repacking her pouches and trying again. Often she resorts to making a pile of leaves beside the crack, then going down and popping up to drag the leaves or grass in after her. This keeps the cats on high alert as well. 

You can see I am easily amused.