Wildlife, flowers and holes in my carport
April 2025
by Margo Oxendine, Contributing Columnist
I was sitting here at my desk, staring into space, when — whoosh! — something zipped past outside. Then, again. And again.
What could it be? Well, after a long, hard, cold winter, it turned out to be a bird. The birds are back! Can spring finally be here?
Now that I’ve noticed, birds now seem to be everywhere. And that’s wonderfully fine with me. When I took a little stroll outside, in the patches where the winter snow had finally melted, I saw a glorious sight, a true harbinger of spring: a tiny yellow daffodil shoot peeking through from the recently frozen ground, next to a purple crocus.
Of course, I know the outcome. It won’t last. I can’t count the number of photos I’ve taken of daffodils in the snow. I enjoy them while I can. I think the latest date I’ve ever seen it snow around here was April 19. That just ain’t right!
I’ve started looking for early signs of spring during my walks, which I can take again without scurrying back to the car because it is just too bone-chilling cold. Some of the grass seems to be turning green. And the birds are everywhere up on the wooded lane. Well, maybe not everywhere, but at least they are in evidence. However, the first robin has yet to appear around these rural mountain parts.
You know me: I’m starting to keep my eyes peeled into the woods for bears. They’re probably still hibernating. Bears are no fools! But it won’t be too long before they come out and take a cruise around. The thing is, this time of year, the mamas will be escorting the world’s cutest babies. I wouldn’t mind a quick peek at them, but if I see any, I will calmly and quietly turn around and skedaddle.
I can see evidence of large and small deer, raccoons, perhaps a bobcat or some well-fed escapee housecat, and bunnies hopping out to make an appearance. I love to examine animal tracks. This winter, my own yard seemed as if, during the night, there had been some sort of great wildlife party. Tracks were everywhere. I wish I could stay up and peer out the window in the late-night dark to watch them.
One of my favorite wildlife encounters usually occurs in late April or early May, when the does introduce their babies — often twin fawns — to the yard. I watch them frolic and gambol about, and they always head down the driveway. “Hey!” I want to yell, “The highway is down there. Run for your lives!”
Not long ago, I almost hit a smallish bear who leaped out of the brush and scampered across the driveway right in front of me. It was a thrill I did not need.
Just now, I was sitting here writing this and watching out the windows. What captured my eye was a big, red-headed woodpecker. I love woodpeckers, even if they destroy my carport hole by hole. They are not easily deterred. And I try not to mind.
The woodpecker cinched it for me: Yes, folks, spring is finally here! It won’t be that long before I can start complaining about the summer heat.
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