Blog–3/25/21 Hideaway Pond hideawaypond.com
Brilliant electric blue skies have ruled over Hideaway Pond for a week. Though nothing is blooming yet, the forest sings a quiet promise of oncoming green. A light, transparent, almost invisible green. Here in the Hideaway every color has a voice. If you stir in a little imagination. And watch. And listen. Colors sing. Very quietly. And only on Hideaway Pond. Really.
We were visited yesterday by the first ducks of the year . A pair of mallards. They splashed down in mid-afternoon. After they had surveyed the pond, they bathed. As only water birds can bathe. Filling the air with spray. They then lofted off onto the feathered flyway north. Another three couples dropped in today. And left. An old flyboy’s “touch and go” maneuver. Not a wave or a word of thanks. But mallards have never been known for mastery of the social graces. Notwithstanding that, we enjoy their visits. Pretty little guys.
The fish are recovering from their winter long torpor at the dark bottom of the pond. They make large swirls on its surface. Before long, they’ll be snapping futilely at overhead dragonfly traffic.
The bass are already spawning. We avert our eyes. Even fish need a little privacy. And turtles sun themselves on a bank next to the pond. Must be a life altering event after a winter in the deep cold dark mud of the pond.
Before long the bullfrogs and peepers will be lending their voices to the forest chorus. Their song can occasionally become a bit too “fortissimo”. A hearty holler into the dark will generally quiet the air.
A doe and two of last year’s fawns continue to graze on the front yard at sundown. Still clothed in their dark winter garb, they become invisible against the forest background. They’ll soon be wearing the red robe of summer. It’s about time for Mom to push them out to make room for a new family. They seem reluctant. Go! Get a job!
The local raccoon finally deciphered the “security code” on the bird feeders. We found one feeder in critical condition on the ground two days ago. Both the wounded and the survivor will be retired for the summer. This will no doubt piss off the turkeys and their small avian cousins. Pissed off chickadees. Imagine. So birds, life is cruel. Get over it.
And speaking of cruel, “Gilda” the goose is back. Gilda lost her family to a mid-night raid on her nest 3 years ago. A nocturnal predator. While she was mourning her loss, (and geese do that) her mate left for parts unknown. Geese mate for life and will ordinarily find another mate under such circumstances. Not “Gilda”. She’s a one gander girl. She has returned each year and immediately gone to her old nest site.
As the Hideaway warms and days grow longer, Mother Nature will slowly return in all of her verdant glory. Her spring wardrobe will be garlanded in wild flowers. Hideaway Pond will have survived another winter. Her critters will emerge from their various shelters. They’ll stretch, yawn and blink in the fresh spring sun. And listen to the lovely new colors of another spring. Really.
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