In the Yard

Warm Spell

Rae Spencer1 Comment

December 4 Daisy

With swirling breezes and temperatures in the seventies, today might have been mistaken for spring.

December 4 Dandelion

December 4 Dandelion

The pear tree shrugged off its cloak of leaves and stood all day, bare-limbed, in a pool of gold and brown.

December 4 Leaves

December 4 Leaves

December 4 Leaves

Robins and warblers perched on sunlit branches, their restless urge to forage temporarily forgotten.

December 4 Robin

December 4 Warbler

But today’s weather shouldn’t fool any of us, trapped as we are in winter’s web.

December 4 Cicada Molt

An early dusk approaches, wheeling night behind it. Sleep is creeping through the yard, with months to go before waking.

December 4 Cocoon

Ready for Winter

Rae Spencer2 Comments

Robins pipe a shrill warning whenever I enter the yard, freezing rabbits and squirrels and warblers mid-meal.

Rabbit Nov 27

Their tense silence intensifies the pear tree’s rattle, the dry wind-notes that flash red and gold in chilly sunshine.

Leaves Nov 30

Perhaps an early snow will muffle it all, an icy blanket for the long dark hours ahead…

December

Frost in the Forecast

Rae Spencer4 Comments

For me, winter starts when I cut the ginger lilies.

So today, even though it was warm enough to open the windows, winter arrived in the yard. Our forecast calls for temperatures near freezing Saturday night, and I didn’t want to risk losing any of the bulbs to frost.

As I worked my way through the tangle of stalks, I recovered three chimes that had broken off of a wind chime and two birdhouses that had fallen during one of the recent storms. Somehow, repairing the wind chime made me feel a little less guilty about the lingering scent of unfinished blooms.

The cats followed my progress, moving from window to window as I moved from bed to bed.

(Please excuse Vanna’s sour expression. She was trying to ignore the fact that there is room for two cats on that perch. Fortunately, a flock of robins arrived shortly after this picture was taken, providing a distraction from the uncomfortable standoff.)

The robins were soon joined by several warblers and a pair of hungry squirrels.

Today’s strangest sighting was this very disheveled red admiral butterfly. It seemed to be heading south, perhaps following the opposite path of spring’s massive red admiral migration.

Wherever it was going, I hope it gets there safely. And I hope it was able to pause, for a moment, and enjoy tonight’s beautiful sunset.

Another Warbler Photo

Rae Spencer3 Comments

A sudden gust of wind forced one of the warblers to make an emergency landing on the fence this morning. He stayed there a while, fluffing his feathers and preening. His behavior reminded me of our cats, who cover any awkward step or fall with a bout of elaborate grooming, as if to say, “I meant to do that. Now, a little privacy? As you can see, I’m bathing…”

Leaves

Rae Spencer1 Comment

The pear tree is reluctant to release its leaves this year. Even so, hints of red and yellow are creeping in. More and more with each cold front.

By contrast, our Japanese maple seems eager for winter. About a week ago, it’s leaves flared brilliantly red. Then they turned brown and brittle at the edges. Then they fell, almost all of them within a single day.

Now rafts of maple leaves float in the irises and drift across the porch. They scratch against the door and whisk inside with every trip to the mailbox or errand at the store. They whisper that winter is near, despite the pear tree’s curious delay.