Monday, February 19, 2007

Winter And The Glass Half Full...

I've always been a glass half-full, rather than half-empty kind of fellow, a trait I suspect was inherited from my Mother, as cheerful and placid a soul as there ever was, under all circumstances; she always looked on the bright side of every occasion... I thought of this today; the first day that the temperature has risen above freezing for three weeks, with warmer temperatures forecast: we keep our spare sodas in a closet in the garage, and with these frigid temperatures we've been having, one can just go out and grab a soda out of the closet, and it is cold enough to drink. Today, when I went out there for a Pepsi, for a moment I had a pang of regret, thinking that I'd now have to take the trouble to keep the refrigerator stocked if I wanted a cold drink... then I laughed at the thought. I took my soda with me out to the garden for a walk (we actually call soda, "pop" here in the upper Midwest, but I don't want to confuse readers from other parts of the country). This was my first walk around in a couple of weeks and the snow made walking about the paths slow work, but everything looked surprisingly good. I was particularly concerned about the lepidote and elepidote rhododendrons, which in cold, snowy winters can get bad leaf burn, but they looked fine, with little leaf damage, and fat buds. The sun felt delightful on my face, the woodpeckers were all tap-tapping cheerfully on the trees, and then I heard a sound I've been listening for: the call of the Carolina wren. These little birds are known to die off here at the northern end of their territory in severe winters, and I've been concerned that I'd not seen or heard them since the frigid air descended on us. The bright, ringing call of - teakettle-teakettle - was being broadcast up and down the ravines as if the last three weeks of record-setting cold weather was nothing: the Carolina wren and I have a completely full glass today. Posted by Picasa

Comments:
They are back at my feeder as well, I wonder where they spent the last two weeks?
 
Carolina???
 
Way to go being positive! I just had a similar experience with walking through the snow in the garden. From inside the house, I wish for the snow to go away. Walking out in the snow with the crisp air and the bird sounds, I realize that its not that bad after all!
 
Marc... it makes a lot of difference outside when the sun is higher and warmer, and you know spring is coming.
Don
 
No ice with my soda, please. I have had enough of it to last a lifetime....
 
Carolina? They must have frequent flyer miles to use up :).
 
I was afraid you were going to say, "with these frigid temperatures we've been having, I went out to get a can of pop, and they were all frozen solid." Really, I don't see the glass half empty--I just don't have a garage. Last winter I left a can of soda in the back of my car, and that's exactly what happened to it!
 
Kathy...Actually, when it got below zero, there were a few ice crystals in the cans... I like that, as I like REALLY cold pop (sorry... soda).
IGW... this morning, the Carolinas are singing there little heads off. They are pretty territorial.
Sissy... I know what you mean: I can hardly wait for all this snow to melt. It's supposed to get above 50 today, but there is still tons of snow lying about.

Don
 
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