Stasia's Place Of Grace

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

 

"Spring has come..."

I spent the Vernal Equinox (last Saturday) listening to Antonio Vivaldi's "Spring" from The Compleat Four Seasons CD.

This is not just another recording of the famous music. It includes the sonnets (attributed to Vivaldi) which were included in the original musical score of each concerto.

The individual paragraphs are read prior to each part of the music they describe by Patrick Stewart! (Ooo la la!)

Here is the sonnet, "Spring":

Spring has come, and joyfully
the birds welcome it with cheerful song,
and the streams, caressed by the breath of zephyrs,
flow swiftly with sweet murmurings.

But now the sky is cloaked in black
and thunder and lightning announce themselves;
when they die away, the little birds
return to fill the air with their sweet song.

Then on the pleasant flower-strewn meadow,
to the gentle rustle of leaves and branches
the goatherd rests, his faithful dog at his side.

To the rustic bagpipe's gay sound,
nymph and shepherd dance beneath
the fair spring sky in all its glory.

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The crocuses have bloomed this week!

We still have a few snowdrops hanging on - they've been blooming since February:

... and I think I see some daffodils poking up now.

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Most people are thrilled when spring blooms appear. I get just as big a thrill when I find an owl pellet outside!

What's an owl pellet? Well, raptors eat their food whole - fur or feathers, bones, and all. They digest what they need, and then regurgitate the "leftovers" in compact little pellets. They expel liquid waste the normal way...

I found a raptor pellet last week in the yard, and soaked it to determine what the raptor had eaten. Here are the bones that were left when I rinsed all the fur/feathers away:

I still have no idea what they are. I'm a naturalist, not a scientist!

Anyway, lately we've been lucky enough to hear a number of great horned owls hooting nearby in the evenings. Last night, I heard two males in the large tree just outside our bedroom! They were hooting their five-hoot calls for at least an hour (females have a seven-hoot call). It's unusual for two males to be together - perhaps they are establishing territory, though the breeding season is already over. I do hope at least one will stick around.

Well, this morning, I went out to look beneath the tree, and sure enough, found a still-wet owl pellet:

Cool! I'll soak this one this week.

If you homeschool and are interested in a great ecology/food chain/biology experiment, you can buy sterlized pellets and guides here.

Great horned owls are magnificent creatures. Aside from man, other owls, and an occasional raptor with whom they're fighting for a nest site, they have no other predators. They hunt silently and can take prey several times their size. I admire them very much (I consider them a personal totem animal), and I collect little owl statues, so it was thrilling to me to have some so close to the house. I hope you found this interesting and that it didn't gross you out.

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May you find beauty in Nature this spring! Have a wonderful day!

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