The cold spring rain is refreshing, and the sun broke through the clouds just long enough for me to take a stroll through the back yard, where long lost friends are slowly reappearing.
These include the vinca minor, flowering here and there (see above) and the wind ginger, unfolding nearby.
The pachysandra has always looks slightly artificial among the native species, but still very nice when in bloom (or in a Japanese tea garden!)
A few trout lilies struggle to hang on way out in the woods. These were planted by the previous owners, maybe forty years ago.
And then I hear a rapid, stuttering, melodious song I haven't heard for a year. It's the ruby-crowned kinglet! And I soon spot him flitting around from branch to branch on the Amur maples a few feet in front of me. Ah, now I see him.
This tiny butterball of a bird is easy to identify for that very reason; he flits around nervously like no other bird. You seldom see the ruby crown except during mating season, but he was flashing his crest wildly this morning, and, snapping a few frames with my little Canon Powershot, I got lucky.
After I lost sight of him, I could still hear his crisp, melodious chatter in the woods nearby. And several white-throated sparrows, as if to balance the mood, were singing their mournful, slightly-out-of-tune three-note descent.
A brief but exhilarating expedition before breakfast. What will the rest of the day bring?
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