March 6th, 2019

Today was Karen's birthday, but who the hell pays attention to things like that? Its a bit funny, I always confused Karen's Birthday with my Mom's which was the 9th of April. So I would miss Karen's birthday by 3 days, which of course made her very happy with me. Now when it doesn't matter I can't forget. Life and the human mind is a very funny thing.

I shall from now forward think of this day as High Desert Spring. It has of course been slowly creeping up on us here, but today the signs were unmistakable. I now have lots of time to pay attention to the little things of life that one can easily ignore when the drama of every day life intrudes upon our conscious thoughts.

Monday there was a skeen of about 40 Geese heading North just at the limits of sight as the day faded to black. I wondered where they started from on that morning. There was a good tail wind at their altitude and it didn't take long for their calls to fade to nothing. My neighbor to the South has been catching some of the Starlings that have descended on his ranch. They are replenishing my summer food supply for the Hawks. Today was the first day that I have seen one here at the house.

I went to the hot tub just after daylight as is my habit. Today I left the jets off and just sat in the water and listened and watched. The morning was foggy. The creek had a layer of fog on it that almost came up to the house, a bit skimpy, but somehow comforting. I watched a single jet drawing an arrow in the sky and as usual the sound didn't catch up until he was directly overhead. In the early mornings the birds begin to greet the day as the morning brightens, and today there was a call that I had not heard for some time. The Say's Phoebe was back. They nest under the porch and hunt off the coat rack for the tub. Then I heard a Kingfisher down at the creek. The two Red Tails were cleaning out their nest for the first time as well. Then it finally dawned on me- Spring is coming! Apparently that realization must have become apparent to the Coyotes as well since they began to greet the new day with howls of glee. The joy of their sing along was lost on Brick (the love bug) as he began to look over his shoulder and "burf" in warning.

It has been a mild winter for sure, for me at least, but I am ready for the renewal of spring. Of course its not all over, but the light is visible at the end of this tunnel. Take the time to stop and pay attention to the little things around you. Not the obvious distractions, but the little signs of nature that tell you to cherish what you have, strive for better, and above all love those around you.