Often I sense that my love of birds and birding isn’t passionate enough. I get up in the morning, listening for the first sounds of their calls, trying to pick out and identify each bird song in the cacophony of the dawn chorus, and generally trying to note those that would be the first of season birds to pass through and or choose to make my yard its summer home.

I take glee in the return of the Black-throated Green Warblers, the sneezy call of Blue-winged Warblers and mostly of the incessant mews of the Grey Catbird. Witnessing the return of these species reinforces for me that we’ve again come full circle and all is continuing well in the Universe.

What makes me wonder about my level of passion for this activity is when a rare or vagrant bird is found in the area. I never have a great yearning to go find it, gawk at it or tick it off on my list of birds seen.

Yesterday I tested my passion for birding by joining a group of birders, some of whom came as far away as Ontario, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey to see just such a bird. It was a Fieldfare, an European relative of our American Robin. A species that had last been seen in Massachusetts 27 years ago.

I stood in the backyard of some incredibly generous homeowners, whom for a week or more have allowed people on their property to try to see this bird from sun up to sun down.

I saw folks who I haven’t seen in a while and met new ones all intent on seeing this bird. Mostly people were quietly standing peering with scopes and bins past the arbored garden to a berried Barberry bush at the edge of the woods where just about noon the bird had last been seen. The berries were quickly diminishing as a result of the season and the robins voracious appetite. I thought…this is hardly enough food to sustain a flock for much longer.

After 4 hours of standing on a breezy, frozen snow covered patch of grass I thought…Wouldn’t it be something if the day I decided to come see this bird, is the day that it decides to go on to continue its journey?

At the end of the 5th hour, still no bird. Most frozen to the bone seekers went reluctantly away. Me, I had no regrets. I enjoyed the kinship and camaraderie of those on a mission to see something rare and unusual. I enjoyed my friends from New Jersey who came all the way up to see this bird and got me out to stand around with them.

I only hope the Fieldfare fares well.

CELEBRATE THIS SEASONS OPENING OF U-PICK BLUEBERRIES

ARTISTS & CRAFTSPEOPLE SHOWCASING THEIR WORK

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July 22nd 2012

1 -5 PM

Sempervivum collection

Hens and Chicks

Well, a month has past since the hope of an early spring fooled us with it’s false start. Temperatures, in Central Mass have been definitely more seasonable, more ‘normal’.

More normal, of course means night time temps dipping to the twenties, while day time temps climb to the high forties, low fifties if we are lucky. Perfect for maple sugaring, if we hadn’t been stopped dead in our tracks by that odd week of 80 degree weather in early-mid March. That’s a whole other story better left to next Maple Daze season.

Back to deceptive Springs… I remember reading various gardening articles about the timely removing of mulch from your plants in the spring, all warning of being too anxious, too early and the damage hard frost would do from the removal of the insulating materials.

Many local garden centers, hearing the early ka-ching of their registers, could not or would not let a missed opportunity go by and had many plants with tender new spring growth freeze.

During our week of a misconcepted ‘Early Spring’, it was hard to listen, remember and follow this advice.

I went down to a lovely wholesale succulent dealer, Woodward Greenhouses in Connecticut, purchased 6-packs of  beautiful hens and chicks, Sempervivum tectorum. These plants are hardy to our area, but they were greenhouse grown plants, so not hardened off yet. Well I left them outdoors during those freezing nights.

I know, I am an idiot, not, for all was not lost, well a few hard earned bucks, but the lesson I learned to abide my time and not rush the season was invaluable.

Spring Equinox 2012

Well today’s weather speaks Spring like it were magically made for today.

Sunday March 18th 2012

Today was a spectacular New England early spring day. Beginning with seasonably cool temperatures and sunshine at 1260 feet, the warmth of the sun and the turning  of the winds from the south soon created a contagious situation where Spring Fever hit the area hard.

Eastern Phoebe and American Tree Swallow were expected and happily noticed when returning home to their breeding grounds after wintering farther south than I was able to travel this past winter.

This past week has graced those of us who live in central Massachusetts with a few distinct and easily recognizable sounds. The American Woodcock, Song Sparrow and Eastern Phoebe. American Tree Swallows also have a distinct call, but their aerial acrobatics are what really catch the senses.

The other sound which signals the coming of spring to my heart is the sound of motorcycles. Living on the eastern slope of Mount Wachusett, a riders’ destination, many bikes are heard revving their engines along the straight away of Mountain Road and down shifting the declines. At Hawk Watch a favorite pastime of a beautiful day with a lull in the flight, is discerning the differences and identifying a Kawasaki from a Harley from a Suzuki by their engine hums. Just hearing them sends a thrill up my spine and makes my fever rise.