SSSunday No. 539 on Thursday

“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Note: Some subscribers could not view all of last Sunday’s photos. An option we were given to optimize photos to save storage space proved to not work well for everyone, and was not what it was touted to be! This is an update of Sunday’s post for those who were not able to view everything. Thanks for your patience and for alerting us that something strange was happening!

I’m not aware of an official list of indicators of spring, but if I were engaged or inclined to create such a list, the appearance of robins would be in the top 10. Friday afternoon I spotted a robin in the front yard. It was the first of the season. I knew he was not alone! And let’s talk about that earthworm…

…earthworms are a favorite of robins. We had recently experienced rainy days and the ground was saturated which forced the worms out of hiding. Robin migration is complex, but I’ve always noted that they appear in numbers. When I spot the first one, I expect to see many more. The yard was filled with robins, impossible to count, they were scattered in every direction. Amazingly the birds moved through according to the rain and moisture which provided an abundance of their favorite food! 

Males migrate ahead of the females, seeking out nesting sites and I suppose a place to call home. A couple of resident mocking birds were apparently jealous of the new visitors so they harassed some of the robins. While eating worms is fine with us, we wish they would also pluck up all those wild onions. Wild onions might also need to be on that list of spring indicators!

Early March has been “iffy” as usual, but this week is predicted to be very nice with several days in the 70’s. The early bloomers are giving us some glimpses of things to come. It was nice to roam around and spot new color last week. It was very windy and cold on this day but the flowers warmed me up!

I mentioned the early bloomers, and certainly at a distance it appears that the Callery pear tree is in full bloom, but clearly most blooms are yet to open. This is a member of the Rose family. It is considered invasive in most locations these days!

I found this old barn standing only a few feet from a rural county road. Some equipment was inside and I am guessing that the old tractor still runs. Rusty tin is highly sought after these days. I am also guessing this tin would not be available at any price. The barn was here well before the road was paved.

The tires look newer and do not appear to be dry rotted. I’m thinking this old workhorse might occasionally come out of retirement!

I turned around when I passed this roadside stand. You can apparently buy fresh eggs here when they are available, and paying is on the honor system. This, with eggs currently at $8-$10/dozen in stores, is truly an amazing thing. You can still operate this way here in the rural south where we live. That is refreshing. The name of this community is Ball Play (true story). If we could cross the river directly behind our house, this area would be less than a mile from us, however; it takes about 30 minutes to drive there!

As I drove away I noticed this cute little chicken and thought it deserved a photo. Later I thought, why didn’t I open the cooler and see if there were any eggs available?

In spite of a few nights below freezing, this candy corn spirea is providing some beautiful refreshing color to a spot in the landscape that has been quite unremarkable for several months. At first glance I had thoughts of nice flowering, but in fact, it’s young leaves!

Pam did a post last Monday (March 3) on garden plants that were bulbs. These are King Alfred daffodils that are part of the cottage garden. They were looking too nice I guess because PJ couldn’t force herself to cut any or ask me to cut them. Fortunately I am privy to several places in the pastures and fields where daffodils show up, seemingly out of nowhere, always in mid-to-late February. I was glad to bring some of those hidden, never seen daffodils home so they too could be enjoyed! Pam highlighted daffodils in a post last year as they are truly harbingers of spring!

The flowers of the King Alfred’s are a little different from those that I find growing wild. I suppose “growing wild” is not an accurate term since they are bulbs which were planted by someone, sometime long ago. I wish I knew more! As a kid, I do recall an old abandoned house standing very near the spot where today the “wild” daffodils always emerge. It’s just the place they will always call home! The old blue bicycle can be seen in the background. It will be 6 or 7 weeks before any planting activity happens in “ole blue’s” baskets!

Winter honeysuckle is in full bloom and full fragrance. Honeybees find this shrub to their liking on the warmer days that pop up in February and early March.

The signs of spring are certainly all around and definitely welcome, but the architecture exposed by barren trees in our front yard are a reminder to be patient. Some unsettled, cool days are still ahead. I do note that the golf cart trail that leads to the home of certain little people is quite worn. No surprise there!

I heard where someone declared that spring would now come quickly, since as of today (last Sunday), we have an additional hour of daylight. I wondered..did I hear that right? Could there be someone out there who actually believes that moving our clocks ahead makes the sun instantly shine an hour longer today than yesterday? Maybe “daylight saving” was never the best term for this particular time designation!

I mentioned the tree architecture because to me it is a lot more noticeable in the winter when nothing else competes to get our attention. The birch trunk is always plainly visible year round, but for some reason I notice it much more through the winter. The bark fascinates me and the various ways the bark has been used by people through the centuries is also quite amazing! I’m glad Pam was doing an early March walk around in the yard and captured some good photos for today!

I wanted to get back to “spring thinking” so I trekked over to my country roads where the fields greet the Appalachian foothills. The green cover crop, which replaced corn, along with that blue sky, should warm us up…making everyone feel cozy!

Forsythia is often called yellow bell by folks around here, but the yellow bell is actually a different plant. Another top 10 lister, forsythia is one of the first things to bloom here, often in February, and definitely by early March. Seemed to me everyone living out in the country had forsythia in their yard when I was growing up. Grandmother didn’t know about the fancy word “forsythia” so to us they were just yellow bells! Nobody would have corrected grandmother even if we’d known the plant facts…which we didn’t!

I am aware of a few readers who think that I am really teasing when I speak of Turkeytown. But I’m not kidding. I prefer to spell it as one word but I think it might officially be Turkey Town! Real place, real sign.

We are proclaiming spring’s arrival since March is considered spring for purposes of monthly record keeping by meteorologists. Their idea makes us feel better, and as we’ve been watching the birds, it appears they like the idea too! And so far, it hasn’t been bad for sunsets either!