Tuesday, January 24, 2012

~An Early Sign of Spring?~

This morning while I was letting my dog out to do his business, I noticed a bunch of birds in the far part of the yard.  After watching them a bit, I thought...could those be robins??  So I put Banjo back in the house and grabbed my camera to get a closer look with my zoom lens.

While watching them, I started clicking away on my camera.  Sure enough, these fine-feathered friends were indeed robins.  We've had a fairly mild winter, but is Spring coming already?  Surely not.  I went back inside and went to my next best friend, next to my camera.  Google.  I started doing my research and found this article..."The Robin Is Not a Sign of Spring".  Surely they jest, I thought!

Excerpts from article went something like this... "I saw a bunch of robins in the middle of January's snowstorm.  It sure didn't look like Spring to me!"  "I saw a robin last week.  Spring must be coming!"

Robins are a sign of Spring, right?  Wrong!  (what???...my thoughts)

Robins are not a sign of Spring any more than Punxsutawny Phil, that pampered Pennsylvania ground hog, is a predictor of weather. (darn!!)

So why do we cling to the old wives' tale that a robin is the sign of Spring?  Because, as we all know, all robins go south for the Winter and return in the early Spring.  Unfortunately, that is not true.

In part, we are just not paying attention.  Maybe, during a long winter, we are too housebound, or too bundled against teh cold to notice.  But if we strap on our snowshoes and wander the garden or roam the woods - or if we just walk to the corner store for a coffee or newspaper - we may hear the rattle of the robin on any day of the year - even a mid-winter day.

...perhaps, like the ancients of old, you want an omen from the skies, a bird sent from the gods with the message that "Indeed, Spring is on the way - Persephone returns to bring life and fecundity to the earth." (whatever that means)
Red-winged Blackbird                                      
If that is what you are looking for, then watch for the Red-winged Blackbird...with his "Conk-a-reeeee, Conk-a-reeee". (his mating call).

That is a sure sign that Spring is coming.  Other birds will be following along in quick succession....

Well, rats!  Not that I'm in any hurry for Spring to come because that means Summer is not far behind.  So, in the meantime, I'll enjoy the splash of color we get from our little feathered friends. 

Note:  The excerpts from this article were taken from the Tails of Birding blog.

May God bring you splashes of color on this winter day~
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8 comments:

My Vintage Mending said...

I haven't seen any Robins. I love to watch them dig for worms. Please tell it will not be horribly hot this summer. I am not sure I can take it. I have been enjoying the little finches feed out the breakfast window. Smiles...Renee

Blondie's Journal said...

I always thought that robins were a sign of spring as well! I never see them in the winter! Very interesting info! Your pictures are wonderful!

XO,
Jane

Cindy said...

I love your photos of the Robin and I feel your disappointment. It always amazes me when I go outside on a bitterly cold, yet sunny day and our bushes are full of bird chatter and tweeting! They are amazing little creatures and I'm so glad that God has blessed us with these little treasure. No, they may not be a sign of Spring, but they are little blessings from on high, to my way of thinking.
Hugs, Cindy

Dorinda Selke said...

Hi Velma - I'm one of your newest followers. I live in New England, and until today, have always thought that the sight of a robin was happy sign of springtime. Imagine my surprise reading your blog today !! Oh well, I enjoy watching birds so much, my dad loved to bird watch and feed birds when he was alive, and I feel very close to him doing the same thing. Thanks for a very interesting and informative blog today. Hugs, Dorinda

Sam I Am...... said...

Well. I'll be...you learn something every day! Thank you for that information! They do look a little skinny though so maybe they should rethink their decision not to go South! LOL!
I do think we are going to have an early Spring though...I think our calendar is messed up after all these eons.
BTW...I made your Cheesy Chicken Chowder the other night and it was DELISH!!!! Thank you for the recipe. I still haven't made your angel biscuits though but I posted about the soup on my blog and gave you full credit with a link to your blog for the recipe. I hope that's okay.
Have a great day, Velma and your blog is one of my fav's...I have to put it in my sidebar...one of these days I'll catch up with everything won't I??? I'm still new to blogging and I'm a horrible photographer. I'm going to see if there are some books about blogging and digital photography that might help me. Any and all suggestions are welcome! I'm trying to make a banner and wasted a bunch of time yesterday fooling around with Picasa. It is very time consuming! Your blog is gorgeous!

Anita at Cedar Hill said...

Well I had no idea that a robin was a sign of spring, or not as the case may be. You got some great shots of the robins, either way.

TinaTx said...

We have had some crazy weather around here! Last week we had temps near 80, now we are back closer to 40. Rained nearly 3inches today (which we need) with a cold front behind it. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Shannon@Cozy Home Scenes said...

Velma, how I need a sign of spring today. This is a very rainy, dark, gloomy, foggy, depressing kind of day. I have so much to do inside,thank goodness I can stay home and try to catch up on some projects like doing some laundry. I will turn on lots of lights and pretend the sun is shining. The birds are cute no matter.....
Shannon

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