They say change is coming. Down at the nature center, the Japanese honeysuckle continues to invade the 12-acre woods, and cattails are threatening to fill the north pond. They say change is coming, and spooky old Annie has begun--again--to speak pointedly about time to clean up the hummer feeders and boil up some sugar water. Why it seems I am the only one qualified to do these chores the tail end of every winter escapes me, but there it is.
Change is in the wind, but what we really need here on the Rolling Plains is a slow, soaking rain. Not much, I suspect, a new fledgling President can do about that.
In a few short hours Barack Obama will place his hand on the late President Abraham Lincoln's Bible to become the 44th President of the United States. In so doing the United States of America takes one step closer to the realization of the magnificent dream expressed by the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. God speed and good luck, Mr. Obama. You are going to need both.
With a little luck perhaps I can manage to be looking busy somewhere near a radio when our new President gives his inaugural address. No, he was not my first choice. But when it came down to the count, Barack Obama was the best choice.
After the speech, well...there's nothing for it but to pull on the waders and head down to the pond. Those cattails surely will not muck out themselves.
6 comments:
Isn't it just a wee bit early for the hummers? And tell me, why do they call those birds purple finches when the feathers are as red as any apple?
When you're done there, could you clean out the cattails in my pond too?
Okay, Nancy, you caught me in a bit of prosaic license, I'll admit. It is a tad early to be getting ready for hummingbirds or for the main body of the spring migration. However, some folks do keep a feeder up and maintained all year in our belly of the plains just for that odd bird out that decided Wichita (or Clay) County was far enough south. Besides, if I get the feeder chores firmly on my "fixin'to" list now, I've got a fair to middlin' shot at actually getting it done by April Fool's Day.
Only if you are willing to come to River Bend Nature Center and rip out a dozen or so acres of Japanese honeysuckle, Pablo!
Um. About that honeysuckle...any poison ivy entwined in that mess? I have clippers and diggers, but I don't do poison ivy.
By the way, the parents had a blue bird the other day. We had a red-headed flicker thing banging on a tree. Got a pot load of fire ants too. Need any? Sigh.
You bet we got poison ivy, too! But since it is native to the Rolling Plains we follow a control program rather than eradication. We actually use the ivy to educate visitors on identification of the plant.
That being said, I still have acres of Japanese honeysuckle, a non-native invasive, that is completely poison ivy free.
While I appreciate your generous offer, right now we have more fire ants than we can handle. Thanks!
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