In Touch With The Natural World

It's a beautiful spring morning. The red-bellied woodpecker, who is a new visitor this year, has visited my deck and peeked up over the edge like a shy child. I was out of peanuts, so I crushed a walnut, hazelnut, and almond in the shell and put the whole lot out for him. A few minutes later, he found something tempting (he barely beat the squirrels to it) and flew away with it. I haven't seen the female yet, but I hope to soon.

The squirrels came when I called them this morning. They never do that, as I have not made much effort to get up

close and personal with them, but they must have felt the mellowness too.

The bluejays are here eating peanuts. They are some of the most delightful creatures I could ever hope to watch.

Best of all, when I went out to the feeder area with refills, two chickadees perched overhead and gave me quite an earful. This is very close to where I put their nest box, and I hope that means they have finally moved in and were trying to run me off. If not, well, they are always a special sight.

I take this as a sign that although sometimes wildlife preservation efforts seem like such an uphill battle, there is hope for maintaining the kind of beauty in our lives that only nature can provide.