The Birds and the Bees

Spring was only seven days old and we had lots of winged visitors to the cabin. A few even hung around long enough for a photo op.

Bumblebees enjoying spring flowers in my floating garden.

On March 27 everyone seemed to arrive in one fell swoop. Wayne was outside putting stain our deck (he says it's like the Golden Gate Bridge, once you reach the end you have to start painting all over again), and I was gardening. I saw lots of bumblebees gathering pollen from my flowers.

Bumblebee on a Daffodil "tent".

They zoomed right in on my Grape Hyacinths and Daffodils. When dinner is over, they like to spend the night in the centers.

Then came the birds. The sweet Song Sparrow that arrived in January is still hanging around. Now she has lots of new friends. The Hummingbird and Violet-Green Swallows are a week earlier than ever before. One checked out a birdhouses, hopefully to return.

What's for dinner?

We have five Canada Geese nesting in our area. One is a group of three, which seems unusual. The other is a pair. Both groups don't like each other much, calling back and forth especially in the mornings and evenings. During the day there's lots of posturing if they meet in the middle of the bay.

A stately pose.

Isn't this a stately pose? Speaking of stately, we saw four Trumpeter Swans on the lower lake on our way to town. They are rare here, probably stopping over for a rest while flying north from their winter home in Washington's Skagit Valley.

I'm so glad to have the birds and bees are back. It's been a very quiet winter. What's happening in your area? -- Margy