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Monday 03/21/05 A honk-honk here and a honk-honk
there, geese are everywhere.
Spring has officially and actually arrived on River Road
in Epsom! How a day or two can change things this time
of year.
Saturday morning the Suncook River at my house was
bright white and the ice looked like it would be here
until May. Around noon I noticed a dark spot up river a
couple hundred yards that had the look of an open spot.
By 3:00 PM huge sections of the river were free of ice.
This year the ice went out very subtly. It just
mysteriously melted open in less than 24 hours by my
house. By Sunday the river was open banking to banking
as far up the river I could see. Some years high water
from quick melting snow, or a rain storm, will flush the
ice out with a roar as the giant ice sheets pummel the
shore leaving scars on the tree trunks. Not so this year
or last. Winter has left the river without even a
whimper.
When I took the dogs for my usual afternoon hike down
back Sunday afternoon a couple of red winged blackbirds
sang out declaring spring for all to hear. I even walked
under a tree with a male boldly calling and displaying
30 feet over my head. He even launched himself out into
the air with his mating chatter as he glided through the
air with open wings and wagging tail displaying for a
female who has yet to return.
This morning on my way to the office in Durham I
noticed pairs of geese bobbing from practically every
spot of open water. Their salt and pepper heads and
necks were held high to announce their presence as well.
The snow is gradually receding from the fields in
Durham, but west of there the ground pretty much remains
snow covered. I did pull the grass away from a few
clumps of daffodils that I planted a few years ago at
the office. Their spiked fronds looked very nice
sprouting from the brown grass on the sunny side of the
office tucked in against a lilac I also planted there
nearly two decades ago.
I did dodge a line of heavy traffic coming back from the
office this afternoon to pull into the Shell station in
Northwood to buy gas at $195.9, the least I had seen it
for today. Who would have though we would need to risk
death to buy gas at nearly two dollars a gallon! My
little four cylinder Toyota Tacoma guzzled $32 worth
without so much as a belch, burp or even a hiccup. No
shame at all in that vehicle.
My walk at sunset tonight, as I didn't get home to walk
the dogs until after 6:00 PM, was uneventful. No red
wings tonight. I did take my parabolic listen device and
scanned the sky for a woodcock to no avail. A flock of 5
geese were beautifully silhouetted against the darkening
sky as I turned to walk home from the crest of the hill.
They were worth the walk.
The Suncook River radiated the beauty of the last rays
of scattered sunlight from it's now open water as I
retreated to my house. I paused a while to gather the
few remaining photons from the river's reflection like
a bouquet of freshly picked spring flowers.
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