Outdoors

Just as in days past, the summer folk have arrived in Evergreen. It used to be families that arrived as soon as school was out, and there were cabins to be opened, bed linens to be aired out and meals to be prepared during the last of May or early June. Now it is summer birds that still arrive during the last of May or early June.

The summer birds have territories to locate, songs to sing to warn others to stay out of those territories, mates to court and nests to build. Soon they will have young to feed.

Sunday, May 3, dawned wet and soggy. Not a very propitious day for the dawn chorus or, more important to me, the dedication of my husband Bill’s Memorial Bench. I think there were more people than birds. Birds have better sense than to be out and about in such weather. The bird count was low for the date, but at least the people had good views of the birds they did see, for there were plenty of spotting scopes available for everyone to look through. Western grebes showed off their black-and-white tuxedos and their diving ability. Eight song sparrows skulked in and out of the fog.

The big snow has come and gone. It was not quite as much as we had a few years ago, but it was more than we needed at one time. I measured 3½ feet at our house, but it was so warm that much of it melted as it fell, and it weighed so much that it compacted what had already fallen. So, measurements were less than accurate. I decided that the actual depth didn’t much matter. After you pass 2 feet of wet heavy snow, most of the roads are closed and the damage to power lines has been done.

Spring returned again on Tuesday, April 7, with temperatures in Evergreen reaching the 60s. It was a lovely day sandwiched between two snowfalls, typical of “Springtime in the Rockies.” It was warm enough to be out with just a sweater and one of the first days that I wanted to work outside.