A
few weeks ago I cut down a birch tree and split up the best of it to add to
next winter's firewood. Since then it's snowed a couple of times, and
it's rained a bit. A few freeze/thaws had the tangled tops of that tree
buried and frozen to the ground. Things are warming up now and the
snow is disappearing so yesterday I pulled those tops from the ground
and bunched them up to burn later. This morning I walked out there
and flushed two grouse that were nipping on the easy to reach birch
catkins.
I
always enjoy seeing grouse and am very happy to have them living
near. They haven't starting drumming yet – the drumming logs deeper
in the woods are still snow covered, but any day now...
Signs
of spring are apparent. A few days ago the temp was barely above
freezing – today it hit 60. I ate lunch in the sun. There was a robin in our
yard. I saw a butterfly flitting about. Water is running down the
driveway. It's easy to track mud into the house. I found two deer
ticks on my dog. In town folks are happy and smiling even when
dodging the pot holes in the street. Young guys are driving around in jacked-up
trucks with the windows down and the heater and CD player running
wide open. My friends are sending pics of boats and newly tied flies,
eager for the fishing. I'm excited about the wooden bass poppers I
made this winter and can't wait to try them. Some steelhead are being
caught down near Lake Superior.
I've
always said home is my favorite place to be and it would be sad if it
were otherwise. But I have some other favorites for when the time is right
and I'm looking forward to seeing them.
