The Old Field Tree

I have been eagerly waiting for the arrival of spring after what felt like a very long and difficult winter. I love the snow, but at some point, the arrival of spring becomes the only hope amidst a nearly colorless landscape, full of snow, ice, and the hardships of winter.

Yesterday was the warmest day we’ve had since last October. It also signaled the arrival of the red winged blackbirds, Canada geese, and the ring billed gulls. I was anticipating the red winged blackbirds, but the gulls took me a bit by surprise. I think they left before the fall, and now they’ve been gathering in groups of over 30, in the flooded fields where the old field tree sits. I’m sure there were historic wetlands there. It is the riparian corridor of Otter Creek, after all.

The sounds of the gulls remind me of the mixing between water and land, a place where two worlds collide, not quite wetland, not quite upland, but a wild dance between the two. Sometimes if I close my eyes and listen to the sound, I am swept back in memory to my childhood, and I can imagine the sounds of the ocean waves crashing in on the shore.

The gulls are tenacious, and they swoop and dive and cheer loudly, especially upon landing. I’m wondering what makes those particular wetlands so special for them. Is it something they are eating? Could there be amphibians or insects that they are feeding on, or perhaps they are just enjoying the water. They also like to fly above the nearby shopping plaza and perch atop the building.

There was a chorus of birdsong on that warm day. In addition to the ring billed gulls, Canada geese, and red winged blackbirds, the crows, mourning doves, hairy and downy woodpeckers, robins, white breasted nuthatches, black capped chickadees, tufted titmice, dark eyed juncos, and cardinals all joined in to sing praise to the returning warmth. A spring concert indeed.

Most, if not all, of the snow has nearly melted aside from the largest snow mounds and the stubborn ice. Pressing my feet in the squishy mud is a welcome reprieve from slipping on ice, and I feel reconnected with the earth once again. The flow has return to the rivers and the wetlands, and spring has officially begun.