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Have a good Memorial Day. Take time to remember. |
Dream of fighting fields no more;
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking,
Morn of toil, nor night of waking.
from Soldier, Rest! Thy Warfare o'er
by Sir Walter Scott
Wasn't the first week of May nice? Click to enlarge. |
As the Scottish poet James Thompson (1700-48) said:
"Among the changing months, May stands confessed
The sweetest, and in fairest colors dressed!"
Wait -- Is May the shortest month of the year? It only had three letters. |
Not sure -- but I don't think the bees will be able to make up their minds anymore, now that they've all become May bees. |
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Just remember that although April showers bring may flowers, Mayflowers bring pilgrims. |
And in closing I ask -- can February march? Well, no. But April may. |
There are a lot of cute little sparrows in the trees right now, hopping around, singing to attract mates, and building nests. Like the chipping sparrow above. Click to enlarge. |
I heard it singing its cheerful trilled song before I looked up and saw it. The song sounds like this: click here to listen. The bright rusty cap and black eye stripe are diagnostic. |
Note the beak full of nesting material. I wish it a successful nest. And remember to check your sparrows -- they might turn out to be chippers! |
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Can't you just smell the sweet purple perfume? Click to enlarge. |
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Wisteria is blooming now in my neighborhood and it smells wonderful. It smells like summer and childhood memories to me. |
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And it seems to cry out for a haiku, right? I give you In the Moonlight by Yosa Buson: |
Spring really begins for me when I hear this bird sing, and that’s happening right now! White-throated sparrows are ready to breed and brightly-colored males like the one above are singing to attract mates. The song is an attention-getting series of clear whistled notes that you may have heard lately, too. Click on this sentence for a nice You-Tube video performance. Birdwatchers use this mnemonic to help remember the rhythm of the syllables in the white-throated sparrows's song: Old Sam Peabody-Peabody-Peabody. |
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Spring begins in the northern hemisphere tomorrow, Monday, March 20, at 5:24 EDT. And here is one last winter flower that's blooming in my neighborhood. Behold the blue squill. Click to enlarge. |
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Five purple petals, trailing low growth, glossy dark evergreen leaves -- it's a common periwinkle! You might know it as creeping myrtle or Vinca minor. |
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The periwinkle is mentioned in the poem below. I predict that you will be laughing or at least smiling before you find it -- especially if you read out loud. |
Bleezer's Ice Cream
by Jack Prelutsky
"I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,
there are flavors in my freezer
you have never seen before,
twenty-eight divine creations
too delicious to resist,
why not do yourself a favor,
try the flavors on my list:
COCOA MOCHA MACARONI
TAPIOCA SMOKED BALONEY
CHECKERBERRY CHEDDAR CHEW
CHICKEN CHERRY HONEYDEW
TUTTI-FRUTTI STEWED TOMATO
TUNA TACO BAKED POTATO
LOBSTER LITCHI LIMA BEAN
MOZZARELLA MANGOSTEEN
ALMOND HAM MERINGUE SALAMI
YAM ANCHOVY PRUNE PASTRAMI
SASSAFRAS SOUVLAKI HASH
SUKIYAKI SUCCOTASH
BUTTER BRICKLE PEPPER PICKLE
POMEGRANATE PUMPERNICKEL
PEACH PIMENTO PIZZA PLUM
PEANUT PUMPKIN BUBBLEGUM
BROCCOLI BANANA BLUSTER
CHOCOLATE CHOP SUEY CLUSTER
AVOCADO BRUSSELS SPROUT
PERIWINKLE SAUERKRAUT
COTTON CANDY CARROT CUSTARD
CAULIFLOWER COLA MUSTARD
ONION DUMPLING DOUBLE DIP
TURNIP TRUFFLE TRIPLE FLIP
GARLIC GUMBO GRAVY GUAVA
LENTIL LEMON LIVER LAVA
ORANGE OLIVE BAGEL BEET
WATERMELON WAFFLE WHEAT
I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,
taste a flavor from my freezer,
you will surely ask for more."
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Starting with something short and simple: "Zebras zig and zebras zag." |
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"She sells seashells by the seashore." Classic! Click to enlarge the gooseneck barnacles. |
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This one is challenging and icky: "The crow flew over the river with a lump of raw liver." |
Apparently five swans have left already. "Six sleek swans swam swiftly southwards." |
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And here is a tongue twister I composed for the occasion. "Round-eyed raccoons recline and commune in a rough-hewn treetop raccoon cocoon." Try saying it fast three times. |
A passerby offers seeds to a tufted titmouse. Click to enlarge. |
Seems impressed by how big a human is up close, right? |
Chancing it! |
Got a nice one. |
Thanks! Bye! |
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Starring the tufted titmouse, a year-round resident in the eastern United States famous for bold encounters with humans like above. And among the cutest of birds. |
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Scanning the branches in the park revealed many SLF egg masses. The only hard part was differentiating them from lichens and the other kinds of tree bark blobs and blotches. |
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Here are a few uncovered masses from a previous year from which the insects have hatched. Note the exit holes. |
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We removed egg masses from beyond arm's reach with scrapers on poles. There were a lot of them on the structural supports of this wooden gazebo in the park. |
Click here for a recent report on the state of the SLF invasion from the Penn State Extension Service. |