Sunday, March 21, 2010

Singing of Springtime

This past week—the last official week of winter—was warm, for Chicago—temps in the 50’s & 60’s with not too much wind. And I was stuck inside with a stomach bug.

This weekend—the first official weekend of spring—was cold and SNOWING yesterday, then in the low 40’s and windy today. And I was feeling GREAT, ready to go for a nice long walk.

Grrrr…

Still, there are signs of spring that make me ecstatically happy, that help me to remember that the warm weather is not far away now. The trees are budding, and the birds are singing…

One of my favorite birds is the cardinal. For some reason, I can always tell when a cardinal is nearby. It just has this very distinctive sweet, melodic call.

On one of our recent walks, I heard this cardinal and then spotted him in a bare little tree, singing away. Iwanski and I crept closer, and he didn’t move—he just kept right on singing. It was so beautiful. And so Iwanski took out his trusty Nikon and captured him in mid-song.



I LOVE this picture…and I also love that on Flickr, Iwanski captioned it “Hey ladies!” He cracks me up.

Even though it was a rather cold weekend, spring is definitely in the air…and to me, it’s these kinds of moments that make life so sweet.

10 comments:

Barb said...

I'm so glad you are feeling better but hate that you are still getting snow. It was a beautiful Saturday here ~ I got way too sunburned. Rained on Sunday but still fairly warm. Will send nice warm thoughts your way!

Mom said...

Spring was in it's full glory this weekend in Maryland. The forsythia and daffodils are blooming.
We sat in the sun and watched a nuthatch frolicking in our backyard.
Nice picture

Maria said...

Still waiting to see a robin...

Unknown said...

I love to see and hear a Cardinal too. Something just says spring doesn't it?
Enjoy the emerging Spring in Chi town, I know it's a welcome sight!

sageweb said...

Spring started here a few months ago..but you probably didnt need to hear that.

Random Thinker said...

We get your weather here in Detroit one day after you're done with it. Although we didn't have snow this weekend, it was chilly. That little taste of 60's makes me antsy to be inside.

yellowdoggranny said...

spring time is back in west, texas..going to be 70 today..thursday? more rain..sheesh.

Br. Jonathan said...

My favorite sight is when all the city-pigeons are huddled under the heat lamps at the EL stations.
Then, you KNOW it's winter!

Sling said...

I'm envious of your Cardinals.

Fantastic Forrest said...

Your lovely positive attitude makes the sun shine even if it's cloudy cold weather. The cardinal is gorgeous. I moved from Chicago 25 years ago, and still marvel at the temperate climate of the Pacific Northwest. Everything is flowering here, and has been for weeks.