Scattered Seed

We decided to make a day-trip to the city, after talking with Morgan earlier in the week. This was a trip with a purpose (her show). We left Horseheads about 8:30, Garrett accompanying us – ( he figured this show had to have dialogue!). It was a pretty drive down – everything greener once we were on the Palisades Parkway – the temperature rose into the 70’s. We took the same route down the island as we had in January – we found the parking garage, the Mud Truck, 440 Lafayette St, and Morgan – in that order.

The show was dark and disturbing (it did have dialogue) – Morgan remained the calm in it all – and my attention focused on her, rather than the Others who were scattered and loud and dysfunctional. She used scenes from my family home video, and that made it all the odder for me, to see Jim on the tire swing, Sandi and Karl holding hands as 2-year olds, me running to the screen with a piece of cake for Dad the photographer……43 years ago.

We went for dinner – cheese, bread, hummus, olives, fruit, drinks, chocolate and halvah – to sit on the ground and enjoy at Tompkins Square Park (the Stilton cheese with apricots was the best) – the walk back on crowded streets to 440 again, retrieving Garrett’s laptop, Dad’s coffee beans. Morgan walked over to the parking garage with us to show her ID and get us the NYU discount. Then she was headed back for the evening show, and we were maneuvering the streets back out of the city for the very long ride home.

We left town early yesterday, and made it to Montezuma about 10 a.m. We had a good hour and half to bird before heading on to Auburn. The auto loop was recently opened, so it was our first drive-thru of the season. Dad was especially hopeful of catching sight of a bald eagle, as we did once there last year. We saw an abundance of birds and waterfowl, and spent a bit of time taking pictures to help with identification of some of the unfamiliar sightings. My favorite, and most photogenic, is always the great blue heron. All totaled, we counted 18 species for our day’s effort (no bald eagle). I spent last evening making the entries into my bird journal, a Christmas gift from Rebecca. Yesterday’s list: Canada geese, tundra swan, mallards, northern shovelers, canvasback ducks, red head ducks, bufflehead duck, ring-necked pheasant, belted kingfisher, pied-billed grebe, great blue herons, turkey vulture, ospreys, ring-billed gulls, herring gulls, tree swallows, and a red-winged blackbird.

A week ago, the temperatures were in the 60’s, and I spent some time gathering up the willow branches that had fallen into the yard over the winter. I piled them around the post of the tray feeder Dad made for me last year. Some birds prefer to peck through the twigs for their seeds, or retreat there when threatened. The neighbors are probably amused by my efforts, or think I am too lazy to carry them up to the brush pile.

We made a trip for 50 lbs. of sunflower seeds, 25 lbs. of cracked corn, and a bulk bag of white millet. I brought in some of the bird feeders and scrubbed them clean. A trip through the garden center, and I found a new hummingbird feeder, and a hanging water bath. For Dad, I found a butterfly garden that he has started in a hanging basket (he has always felt that butterflies would be attractable, as easily as birds). I also bought him a jalapeno pepper growing kit, which he can tend to on the deck.

The tulilp leaves are halfway up, the rhubarb’s poking through, the lilac bush has begun to bud. Now the temperature has dropped forty degrees, and we are back to winter. The butterfly garden will get moved around to sunny spots in the house, but who knows when we will be able to hang it outdoors?
I hung the water bath and the hummingbird feeder yesterday. The temperature was above freezing, but didn’t stay there long. The nectar and water froze by mid-afternoon, and I brought them back inside. Today I didn’t even try. The temperature might have made it to 34 degrees, but I figure the hummingbirds will delay their arrival and not miss my offering. The deck had a light covering of snow, and the birds came for their usual feed, but I didn’t want to spend any time outside with them.

This is our spring break – anticipated for nicer weather and time we could spend outdoors. I’ll wait.