To my friends in the Northeast who are still waiting for the
snow to melt- I wish I could jet you all here to a place where the grass is
green, the bluebonnets are lining the highways and birds are in full courtship
song. It is THE best time of year to be
here. Soon it will creep up in degrees, the
humidity will more boldly assert itself and the insatiable, practically
invisible, mosquitoes will turn gardening from a delightful chore into a bloodletting. Which is why right NOW is the time to visit
South Texas.
If any Californians are reading this, I almost hate to point
out that, whereas you are in this awful record-breaking drought, Texas has
received more rain than usual and is coming out or “severe drought”
status. Frogs and toads are chorusing like crazy
at night, yet interestingly, I haven’t seen any snakes to show me the food
chain is alive and well. But just
because I haven’t seen them doesn’t mean they aren’t out there.
God bless the many flowers that are blooming in the yard,
and the coral vine that is finally running riot over the fence. Yeah! Amazing what the addition of water can
do. It practically makes it look like a decent gardener lives here but, we all
know that, that is not true, just the
result of rain. I usually prove the
nursery motto, “We grow them; you kill them!” to be sadly true.
I was teaching at the Guadalupe River State Park today and,
as I had experts at my disposal, I quizzed them about when I should expect
certain birds to come for summer or go to someplace cooler to nest. Turns out it is not something you can set
your clock by here in Texas as it was in the North. But still, some species signal “summer” is
here. Or what feels like summer to me,
even when it is only March.
One of those species
is the hummingbird. They have been
anxiously awaited; I put out their food as early as mid-Feb. But, at least in my yard, they are JUST back,
and I mean just, as in the past few days. The first to visit the feeders were
just passing through, but now I believe “mine” have arrived.
Yesterday I noticed a few that drank some
nectar, took their usual perches and came back to drink more. If they keep coming back for the next few
days I think I can assume we know each other!
Hummingbirds are faithful to their old stomping grounds, and although
they only live a few years, I take it their children, grandchildren,
great-grandchildren etc. continue to call this yard “home”.
The Black-bellied whistling ducks claim to be year round
residents but I don’t see them in the middle of “winter” in my part of
Texas. But they are back now and their
bubble gum pink legs and neon pink/orange beak make Id-ing them a cinch! My
yard is getting regular “fly-overs” for I think they sleep in a nearby spot and
then fan out, perhaps to nearby cattle ponds.
None of this is meant to rub it in. I know the people living in a home we own in
Buffalo are claiming they can hear ice falling, they think, between the
walls! Swell!
So clearly Easter egg hunts may still involve a snow shovel
there. I am not sure if the Cape is
fully thawed yet, but I remember owning Easter outfits but never wearing them
because it was still sweater weather. No
chiffon this year there either. (Wow,
who remembers chiffon?!)
But whatever climate you find yourself in, I hope the joy of
Easter, for those who believe in a risen Christ, will melt your heart wherever
you are. I am writing this on Good Friday,
a day full of true drama; the amazing shock that God would do this for me, for
you, this horrific death. That the agony
in the garden is because he KNEW in every detail what was about to happen and
he said, “yes” anyways. That kind of
love is hard to get our heads around, we seem so totally undeserving.
But he did do it, and it put the “Good” in Good Friday and
so we all get handed our free “Get out of Jail” card; one huge sacrifice for us
all, one gift, given to anyone, ANYONE who wants to accept it. Amazing, utterly amazing.
Happy Easter everyone! May the earth be coming back to life
wherever you are, and may you find the time to get out there and see the wonder
that is at your feet.
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