silent spring

[ritaxis]

Early days yet (Buena Vista/Calabasas Roads, Watsonville, March 24, 2006)

I saw two hawks today, and I heard another.
I saw sourgrass blooming bright and acid yellow in the orchards.
The ditches were running with brown water.
The wind was fresh, the clouds were fecund,
everything moist and burgeoning.
The apple trees, pruned, reaching for blossom time,
the fields, plowed and fallow, weed-bedecked, ready.
In five miles of open land,
twelve Brewer blackbirds trying to make a flock.

The sky clear of blackening wings.
The wires unsagging from the weight of missing blackbirds.
No rusty hinge squealing, announcing the return of the redwings.
The fences uncrusted by the marks of their leavings.

It's early days yet. Yes? There's time. Yes?
This year's matings can produce an avian resurgence. Yes?
Yes?

Comments

[pameladean]

The redwings are back here. What's happening out there?

P.

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

I think it's that Buena Vista and Calabasas Roads are not good redwing habitat, not having any long grass anywhere (the fallow places appear to have only mustard, radish, sourgrass, and stuff like that). But in times past I saw them in force in Neary Lagoon, and when I was there last week I didn't see one. I'll have to go and spend a long time there this weekend. It's around the corner and one of my favorite places but I hardly ever go there because I can't take the dog.

[pameladean]

I forgot to say, the poem scared me so much that my reply was the one you got -- "Hey, we have redwings, really!"

P.