Noonish

The sun was high, contrasts were sharp, colors were saturated, and the wind was a-blowing. Not a great time for photos at Oak Point. I'd have arrived earlier, but the guy ahead of me at the drive up mailboxes at the post office had to try stuffing his box into each of the mailboxes repeatedly. It's just not gonna go, dude.

I've never seen so many cars in the round parking lot at Oak Point, but couples and family groups were keeping their distance from other groups. Families were picnicking on blankets. Old friends had lawnchairs six feet apart in the shade. We were all glad to be out!

West of Jupiter Road

Swallow nest under Jupiter Road, above the trail. Mom swallow tolerated me only so close before she flew off.

A very young wren was having its first short flight lessons, coached by a shepherding parent. The baby's downy fluff sticking out in the wind looked like all of us with delayed haircuts.

A red-tailed hawk circling overhead probably belonged to the nest on the tower arm.

Happy cottonwood fluff season!

Prickly pear in bloom

© 2014-2020 Nancy L. Ruder

Wren-O-Rama

My mom loved wrens. Spotting a wren in the backyard was reason for a joyful "long-distance" phone call. In those days of diapering baby boys I couldn't always properly appreciate Fritzi's birdwatching thrills. Now, ten years after her death, I want to pick up the phone and call Fritzi whenever I see a busy wren, or hear its scolding sound.

How to describe a wren scold? Did you ever have a spinster junior high English teacher on the verge of retirement who had beady black eyes, very high expectations, and a shortage of patience? A woman in old-fashioned black shoes with a bit of a mustache hopping around the underbrush parsing sentences? A tiny bird/woman/teacher who made the first hour of each school day a living hell, but somehow made The Scarlet Letter, The Odyssey, and The Old Man and the Sea books you would reread over the decades.

Carolina wrens are in constant motion. Usually in the underbrush, when they hop on a fallen log in a shaft of sunlight they taunt the photographer. My best Oak Point wren photo isn't great, but it was a personal victory!

March 7, 2013 Caddo Trail

Dec. 24, 2014 Rory Meyers Children's Adventure Garden

 

Looking contemplative

I give a wren more IQ credit than a creature weighing 0.8 oz. probably merits. Still, the little birds very effectively communicate warnings and displeasure. When a black cat came stalking through the garden, you KNEW the wrens were pissed off! Good grief! They had to get off the ground and go sit on the tall fence during the threat. And their English teacher made them read The Red Pony!

Hey you, get off of my cloud!