Shrouded Shore: The Many Musings of Thom Singleton

  Our Meadow’s Changing Moods First, white as snow, because it is Next, myriad plants of brown, not yet revived Then, plants of spring green Next, plants of dandelion gold Then, white of dandelion seed heads Next, seeds fly and we’re back to green Then, white clover among the green Our meadow changes with her whim and the weather 

  We Live in a Birdhouse A sparrow pecked a hole in an outdoor beam end,  A beam end just for show, for it is hollow. Now we share our house with a brooding family. We live in a birdhouse. Others have come close to moving-in… Birds that build nests on the near-horizontal lengths of downspouts; A robin watchman who pecked-on his reflection in the kitchen window, Thinking that his reflection was an intruder; Mallard ducks that swim in our pond, waddle over to the patio door, And gaze at their reflection in the glass, But looking really like they want a seat at the dinner table. This year we’ll honor the sparrow’s hard work and not interfere with their nesting. But next year we’ll have to rebuild the beam end using a harder wood, ironwood perhaps. 

  Friendly Neighbors A pair of mallards look at their reflection in the patio door. A tiny mouse tries to squeeze into a small hole in the stone wall by our front door. A yearling deer follows Patti around the yard while she carries a pail of birdseed for the feeder. A hummingbird hovers and pecks at the sugar water birdfeeder right outside our window. An oriole hangs upside down at the same feeder to catch a little sweetness himself. Friendly neighbors.

  Spring Snow? Where yesterday they were swarming and swirling like snow flurries in the stiff wind, today the cottonwood cottons - still aplenty - are floating like white butterflies in the light breeze. If even some of the thousands of tiny seeds suspended in the cotton took root, we’d have an impenetrable forest. Each spring there would be thick snow drift-like mounds of cotton everywhere. There are a goodly number of huge cottonwoods in the neighborhood. Many decades ago these giants first took root,  Now, they are still working to propagate their species.

  A Shocking Sight! It’s 5AM. Through sleepy eyes, I look outside. It’s snowing! White flakes flurry about in my now wide-open eyes. But wait! My still-groggy brain remembers that it’s June. I finally realize that it’s cotton falling from the cottonwoods, not late-spring flurries.

  Suns, Big and Little, and Ducks It’s sunny out by the deck today. Not too hot, a little breezy. Perfect for soaking-up some rays while watching a little sun fly by. The little sun, an oriole, bright gold-breasted, lands on the feeder adorned with orange slices and cups of jelly. His good looks rival even that of the wood duck who visits our yard as well. Woody and his mate avail themselves of the waters of our little pond, as does a mallard couple dousing and preening themselves in the clear water. Other interesting visitors today were three mallards, all male, meeting and quacking together, perhaps taking respite from sitting on their respective nests. Spring is an interesting season for birdwatchers like me.