Spring Is In the Water

Today is rainy but last Wednesday wasn't so I ventured out into the world for a walk. I was headed to the farm to have lunch with the hub. Don't be impressed, its only a mile and he gives me a ride home. On the way there, I passed the little neighborhood lake. Never mind that its still winter - at the lake it was spring. Those little English daisies that my dog mistakes for bread crumbs are in full bloom. My dog has not always been so easily fooled but she's 15 now and I think she has dogzheimer's. She always forgets that I just gave her a treat and she barks for more. Which I give her. Maybe she's getting smarter...

Anyway, I saw lots of springy stuff - especially birds. There were a bunch of different kinds, and thanks to the hub, I have learned how to identify some of them. For instance, I have figured out how to tell the difference between Snowy and Great Egrets. Besides the fact that Snowy Egrets are a lot littler than Great ones. Also, Snowys have yellow feet. I remember it as in don't eat yellow snow. The hub taught me about the yellow feet, but the snow thing is all mine...

One bird I know on sight is the coot. Coots, also known as mudhens, are the butt ugliest birds God ever put on the face of the earth. I think birds are beautiful creatures as a family of animals, but coots are just awful looking. I don't think God made a mistake in their design - just that we have different taste.

Coots are a kind of dingy grey/black with nauseating green feet that look like wormy little pontoons. They float around the lake in little bunches and when they get out of the water, they group poop all over the lawn. Their beaks are white and look like exclamation points without the dot. They make squawky noises and they eat bugs. They uglify up the landscape. Still, they undoubtedly perform a valuable function in nature.

I'm not sure what it is but there are huge numbers of coots so it must be really important. Maybe its to keep big groups of picnickers off the lawn. Large groups are hard on turf. Even large groups of coots. Of course, people don't (usually) poop all over the lawn so its sort of six of one, half a dozen of the other who is harder on the grass.

There are other bird families, too. Most of the lbb variety (little brown bird). Hey, the hub's a good teacher, but he's no Annie Sullivan. I can identify robins and larger. Usually. Anyway, there are many signs of impending spring. Coots are just the ugliest and most obvious at this point.