It was a lovely, cloudy day here today. I don't say "foggy" day, because this isn't fog. At this elevation we're actually up in the clouds. When I took this photo yesterday it was sunny behind me, and I was watching the clouds pour over the ridge down into the deep hollow where I live. Last night we had "tree rain," which is what we call the moisture that condenses on the trees, some of them 200 feet high, and then falls to earth.
The silence of a day like today is different from the silence of a snow shrouded winter day. This silence is also devoid of human noises, as in the winter, but not animal sounds. I made a large fire in the fireplace and then opened the windows. My animals always think I'm nuts for doing this, but I like to hear the sounds of a spring "cloud day". The quiet patter of the tree rain dropping down, the creek gurgling along, happy to be free of the ice...
The Red Breasted Nuthatch checks out one of the feeders...
while the Steller's Jay has his peanut!
I can hear these birds, along with the Purple Finches, Acorn Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, Robins and a flock of Song Sparrows calling to each other as they wait their turns at the feeders. Maybe they're sharing the latest news of the day; who saw what, the fine piece of yarn Mrs. Jay found for her nest, and the trouble Mr. Chickadee got into with the Mrs. when she found out he was twittering at that flirty Miss Chickadee!
The squirrels come in for their peanuts after the birds have left. I can hear their little claws on the bark of the trees as they scramble down to the feeder...
I love the sounds and the sights of a spring cloud day, and it always makes me happy knowing that the birds and squirrels who have come here hungry are going back to their homes with full tummies because of the food I've put out for them.
I love seeing the birds -- such as the jay -- that are different from the ones we have! And what a beautiful description of being in the clouds!
ReplyDeleteMy sister says that when I was a little girl I was always walking around with my head in the clouds. So now, every time she looks up from her citrus farm down in the valley 6,000 feet below and sees the mountains wrapped in clouds, she calls me and says, "See? I told you you always had your head in the clouds!" She never fails to find this tremendously amusing. Sigh...big sisters. But would I miss those cloudy day calls from her? You bet I would!
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