Full Moon and a rainbow...

Last night I was able to photograph the full moon in all its glory and again this morning. Surrounded by a sheen of cloud it was a beautiful sight.

Last week a gorgeous rainbow grew above the skies to the South...

We have had huge swings of temperatures in the last ten days or so, ranging from a balmy 78 to a freezing 21 degrees.... snow covered the field behind us yesterday, but now it is melted. 
The first of the many bulbs Judy planted last year are showing!

Nicholas

Along with the bulbs and the warmer, longer, daylight hours, has come the return of the redwing blackbirds. With the great expanse of open field behind our home, a natural nesting site, dozens return each spring...their song fills the early morning and early evening air with excitement and chatter. 

Other birds, having found all of our feeders, are also joining us this spring...there are a robins, cardinals, a number of thrushes, juncoes, sparrows, goldfinches...

I am busily planning how to attract more hummingbirds, butterflies and songbirds with beds of wildflowers. While I will create a few structured beds...it is exciting to imagine great expanses of a clover lawn, interspersed with beds of brilliantly coloured native wildflowers stretching seamlessly to the stream, the field and the hills beyond.

This new landscape, this horizon we have gazed upon for nearly a year, is holding our hearts, our minds, our spirits with reverence and filling our lives with awe.

Judy

Meltwaters have gathered pace in the rivers and streams around here. Yesterday I walked with Misty around Beebe Lake in Ithaca, and the waterfall at the outlet was magnificent.

There are cautious signs of spring everywhere. Male red winged blackbirds sit on branches or other vantage points and sing with their wings outstretched to attract a mate; robins flirt and fly around each other; soft tips of spring bulbs push through the softening ground.

Nicholas

The beginning of Spring....

At last, we've seen a few bulbs poking their way up through the soil!... Its been a long winter and we had feared for them.
A few weeks ago the full moon set in the West in a gorgeous sky...

The red-winged blackbirds are back! We have a flock of about 30 or so just behind the house and they are beginning to set out their territories for the spring, calling and flashing their red wings from the branches of the trees along the creek.

Misty, our new puppy, is growing fast. A few weeks ago she fell through the ice into the creek and, since then, we've decided to only let her out on a leash!

Yesterday, I watched the Northern Harrier being attacked by two large ravens as it flew above the field. It is an awesome bird and seemed oblivious to the ravens as they swooped and flew around it.

We think the bluebirds have started to nest in the box at the end of the fence, but are not quite sure at the moment... it will be fun to see.

Nicholas