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daffodils
October 2009 
Daffodils, maples and woodpeckers ... a few of my favorite things
Posted on Apr 30th, 2009
by 
Sylvia
Sylvia
(Note - I have appreciatively copied the images in this post off the web - please click the links below each picture to go in a separate window to the page where the image can be found).
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image source
Spring displays on the land where I live feed my soul for quite some time. And this year they have been especially bountiful. Somehow Mother Nature seems to know this is probably my last here. Daffodils started blooming in the latter part of March - over the years my mother planted fifty bulbs a year, so they spring up in all sorts of nooks and crannies on this hilly woody plot of ground. For several weeks, they bloomed in relatively solitary splendor - the weather was warm enough for them to flourish but too cool for the trees to leaf or other flowers to pop out.
And then a week ago temperatures went up into the eighties - and the trees, flowers, and birds went *wild*. From Friday to Sunday the leaves came flooding out - and our feathered friends were tripping over each other in their mating choruses.
Most significant to me are the calls and "drumming sounds" of the pileated woodpecker - once scarce enough to be firmly on the endangered species list - now flourishing in most of the lower forty eight states. The information I've found suggests they have territories of several hundred acres - and yet, with the windows open, I hear their unmistakable sounds several times every day - leading me to the precious hope that they may be nesting nearby. If you've ever seen one - they make quite an impression. Almost as large as crows, with an eye-catching flash of red cap and black and white feathers, they're both powerful and endearingly awkward - great models for Woody the Woodpecker.
love and blessings -
Sylvia
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That woodpecker picture is simply Awesome! There are few of these guys pecking around in the backyard. I can't see them up close, but I don't think they are red headed.
I am soooo ready for warmer (not real hot) weather.
Thanks so much Sylvia!
z
Hi, Zennie - it's been rainy and beautiful here the last couple days - cool enough to sleep under the covers at night, and warm enough to have the windows open during the day.
I found what looks to be a decent site about different types of woodpeckers and hope the links there will help you identify the ones you see in your backyard. I have great memories of learning to identify different species that would come to the suet feeder(s) mom had out on our deck. They're all beautiful and have distinctive characters and characteristics as I hope you'll discover ;-). I also recommend any of the Peterson Field Guides to Birds that cover your area (there are at least three [s]). They're especially handy to have close by a window or any area where you'll be watching our feathered friends.
sharing the joy -
Sylvia
Them peckers have been busy here too. All of our Roses are starting to pop.
About that Mother Nature thing..I hope she's mistaken.
~lars
Hi Sylvia! Guess what! I saw a pileated woodpecker this afternoon just off our deck. It was doing its peck-peck-peck-peck-peck music on an old maple. Love listening them and seeing their prehistoric heads flashing through the woods. Thanks for posting this, Kathy
Hi, Lars and Kathy - pileateds seem to be “in the air” right now :-). An energy friend from church told me in chat today about pileateds he was seeing while they were on vacation in Florida - without knowing about this blog or my ongoing love of the birds. It's so encouraging to hear about them in different places and get the sense they're doing well - especially since Ivory Billeds are thought to be extinct [pained look].
Lars - thanks for that link - what *great* pictures! Don't know how I missed this earlier - haven't gotten a notification yet.
blessings -
Sylvia