Spring
To what purpose, April, do you return again?
Beauty is not enough.
You can no longer quiet me with the redness
Of little leaves opening stickily.
I know what I know.
The sun is hot on my neck as I observe
The spikes of the crocus.
The smell of the earth is good.
It is apparent that there is no death.
But what does that signify?
Not only under ground are the brains of men
Eaten by maggots.
Life in itself
Is nothing,
An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.
It is not enough that yearly, down this hill,
April
Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.
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April brings rain, tornadoes in their targeted flatlands, flowers, flies, mosquitoes, moss greening, birds nesting or migrating, and seemingly a changer every hour. The Varied Thrushes have gone away. So, too, the White-throated Sparrow. The goldfinches are getting close to breeding plumage. Birds pairs are no longer unexpected–both chickadees, both nuthatches, downys, towhees, Mourning Doves have been dualities now for two weeks or more. Singing–finches, robins, doves, red-wings. Turkey vultures overhead, Osprey over water, nesting herons–all April expectations being met. For a little piquant flavori9ng-ttwo hale storms this afternoon. Ah, April, you fooled us again.
Here is a short bit of the highway b ridge across the Willamette at Salem’s Riverfront Park. It appears that Canada Geese are now nesting on the tops of the huge pillars holding up the bridge. Safe, if you can bear the noise from above.
954 Ratcliff Drive SE, Marion, Oregon, US
Apr 2, 2023
19 species
Mourning Dove 6
Northern Flicker 1
Steller’s Jay 1
California Scrub-Jay X
American Crow X
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2
Bushtit 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
House Finch 4
Lesser Goldfinch X
American Goldfinch X
Fox Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 20
Golden-crowned Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 1
Spotted Towhee 1
Yellow-rump 1
Townsend’s Warbler 1
Towheeblog 
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