Saturday, March 15, 2008

Harbingers Returning


Dear Alice,

Yesterday at lunchtime I was outside bidding my two sons goodbye on their drive to NYC when, once again, I heard that odd call. This time I looked up quickly and saw seven of these beauties, the Sandhill Cranes, in flight headed west! What a sight! The tulips on the south side of the house are up, and today I was able to lift the gardeners' quilt to check on the lettuce planted last Fall. It is still there, protected from the deer, and ready to have a head start (especially considering that on the north side of the quilt there is still a fair amount of snow-turned-to-ice.) The Robins can be heard singing their hearts out early in the morning, too. Lovely.

2 comments:

JuJu said...

Oh, how interesting these birds are! We have heard them fly overhead in western South Dakota over the years and you really have to strain your eyes to see the huge flocks flying overhead making good progress as they go! One time while Don & I were driving west on I-80 across Nebraska we kept seeing them "grounded!" I couldn't believe it, so we finally found a safe spot to pull over and take a photo of them as they fed in a vacant cornfield. They really blended in with the ground. Always fun to hear the Sandhill Cranes!! Love the posted photo!

Nancy JC said...

Thank you for your comment, Julie! Did you take a look at the fact page on the Hehnle Reserve page? Such an interesting bird.