Spring.....finally

Spring finally seems to have arrived.  Yesterday, April Fool's day, my son celebrated his 23rd birthday.  My husband is the memory of our family.  However, I do remember with great clarity the birth of both of my children.

They were both April babies, my daughter celebrating her 26th birthday on the 27th of this month.  It was a great time to be pregnant in Virginia--missing the hatefully hot/humid summer months.  I was an August baby, and I think of what my mother must have gone through being pregnant at that time.

I have marveled at a couple of three things that have caught my eye in the last couple of weeks.

Thing 1:  New born calves.  The main road (a country back road) that we travel has several farms of various sizes.  One smaller farm has a few head of cows.  They live the type of life an animal is supposed to live before being dispatched permanently to feed us:  grazing in their lush field in a herd.  Week before last, I spotted about a half-dozen brown mounds in the grass:  newly born calves!  They were lying in the sun while the balance of the herd grazed about 20 yards away.  Yesterday as I passed by, there was a cow lying down amongst them.  They were are there sides in Snoozeville, she was sitting with her legs folded underneath her calmly chewing her cud. 

Thing 2:  Spring Gobblers and hens:  Also in the aforementioned, non-cow-populated fields (and even on the side of the interstated) are an abundance of turkey activity.  Specifically, gobblers puffing and fanning for the hens.  I first spied it on the interstate.  Yes, the interstate.  I was driving west on 64 East and something caught my eye on the edge of the woods:  a gobbler fanning.  Spectacular.  Since that time, I've been watchful.  That vigilance paid off in about four other sightings.  Did you know?  Spring Gobbler season begins soon.  As I understand it from my hunter friends, it is to cull the impotent gobblers who tenaciously guard the hens that they've rounded up.  Not sure that it matters so much because it is notoriously hard to bag a turkey (at least so says my hunter friends!)

Thing 3:  A very large predatory hawk (I've yet to identify as I didn't have my distance glasses on) has been flying around.  I was inside when I saw its large foreboding shadow darken the yard outside the window.  I didn't go out and look.  However, I laid uncorrected eyesight on him/her.  It's either a red-shouldered hawk or a red-tailed hawk.  I remember a pair of kittens that we had that would run under the car whenever there was a shadow. Shadows from above can mean nothing good if you are small and can be carried away.


Best to keep eyes on the road. However, this watchfulness has helped me avoid potential wildlife-car encounters.

Today we have a beautiful day.  I am immersed in Spring cleaning mode which means getting things off my desk, doing my taxes and all of the other long-foregone things that need to get caught up.  I tend to immerse myself in my client work.  Good for my clients, not-so-good for my own paperwork.

I continue to use my Pomodoro technique to keep focused and productive.  A curious mind can lead one down many roads when sometimes it is best to stay on the main road!