Signs of the time. . .

The mid winter thaw is such a terrible tease! Having grown up in a warmer winter environment where fresh produce was available year round i have developed a much greater respect for people living in less temperate regions. i have also learned that no two colds are alike. For example 40 degrees in the early fall is reason to grab your jacket and shiver just a bit if you are outside for any length of time. On the other hand 40 degrees in the early spring (especially after a hard winter) is the time to throw on your favorite t-shirt, shorts and sandals and go for a walk on the beach.

When that week in early to mid February comes it is like manna falling to a starving man. It is also an ecological messenger. Watch the trees, and the birds, and the mammals. Nature tells them things.

Deciduous trees that are otherwise devoid of any signs of life suddenly begin to glow red in their smallest branches as the saps starts flowing up from the roots. Its a good time to tap your favorite maples!!! Anyone out there have an evaporator they want to share??

The birds become louder and more active. You will even begin to notice that small population of Turdus migratorius that you hadn't before - they stay local while all of the smart birds have migrated south long ago.

Sadly, road kill numbers are up for the first time since the deer rut in the late autumn. This time instead of Bambi "sleeping" on the roadside the newest nappers can be prematurely detected by their pungent emanations. Yes, the skunks were out scavenging for a snack at night. The Raccoons have joined them as well as the coyotes, and bobcats, all making their presence known in subtle ways (don't leave your trash on the back porch).

On the pharm we see it too. The turkeys are ready to mate. Our population of jakes is far too high this year, and in the turkey world, like many other less civilized creatures, the males fight for the right to breed. The jakes (a young male turkey) are all calling and where one is loud, eight form a symphony. There is an overload of testosterone in the paddock. . . and there have been more than a few gang fights! Were it not that we are going to "weed" the turkey paddock next month (have to wait for the butcher to open up shop again), we had considered referring to that half of the yard as "South Central" (that's an L.A. reference for the non-California types).

Next door the roosters are crowing. . . and the hens. . . well, they are all the same age but as we discovered yesterday - they are not all laying yet. Our hens are now a year old, and most breeds will start laying around 6 months, so by all normal standards they should all have been laying by now.

Chickens, when they come of age, undergo a warming up phase. They start by laying small eggs and as their bodies adjust the eggs will get larger and larger until they resemble what you might find at your local farm (or supermarket for those less fortunate).

Here the kids get to see the transition in person as they go out to collect the eggs twice a day. Weird eggs are always fun - deeply colored, larger than normal, double yolked, frozen. . . or for James the other day. . . somewhat quail like. Here are a couple of eggs from James collecting the other day:

All of these are chicken eggs fresh from the chicken - no alterations.

We all get so busy in our day to day activities. Stop for a minute. Take an extra long sip of your coffee and look around. Take a second to notice how nature, and we interact with the seasons. Some of the more beautiful nuances in life are so subtle as to almost be missed. . .