The Birds are Back - a Lala Land journal

David is sick this weekend so we couldn't babysit the grand boys as we intended. I'm amazed at how much my heart aches to be around them, however, I am enjoying the stillness this space has provided. I practiced the Ukulele and am learning Let it Be, by the Beatles.

It seems like there should be a song entitled The Birds are Back because the excitement we feel when Spring is approaching is palatable. The Titmouse is a species we are targeting and it appears to be thriving here at Lala Land. We haven't spotted a Bluebird yet, but we are on the look out. 

I set up a triangle of bird feeders (about 20 yards between each), with a bird bath in the center. I put a rock in the middle of the bath so the birds can perch and drink more easily. The starlings and a cardinal just jumped right in and rinsed the cedar pollen off their wings. 

One feeder has a camera in it (feathersnap), and though we really enjoy the pictures, there is just something about the impermanence of birds at a feeder that is so much more intriguing. 

The only time of year you can trim oak trees is after a solid cold snap, so I was just able to go prune our live oak tree in the front pasture. It looks like a tree now, rather than a bush. I'm very happy with the result and was careful not to disturb a blue bird nest I discovered in the higher branches. Joe (corgi) loves it when we go work around the property.

I also started trimming back some of the native grasses I planted in my front yard, since they have already gone to seed. I don't mow anywhere I don't have to - allowing nature to set it's own course here at this bird sanctuary. The quail especially seem to appreciate the undisturbed grassland. 

Tomorrow, I plan to install our road signs my daughter Aubrey made, so our guests and grandsons can map their adventures and discoveries. 

Lastly, I hired someone to come spend two days here, with his chainsaw. Rather than bulldozing juniper trees (less than 10 feet tall), and thereby disturbing the grassland and topsoil, we just cut them off at the ground. We will go back and shred the trees and use that mulch for pathways and to keep the grass down around trees we have planted. 

Spring is always a busy time but we reap the rewards for the rest of the year as we watch the birds migrate in and out.