I try not to write about the same old thing. Sometimes, the same old thing is political. Lately, of course, it is about a virus and the world's response to it. Searching for aspects of the world that are worth attention but get less of it, I often use my own life as a source. Where I live, the weather is an important topic, especially so in spring.
In Wisconsin, we get distinct seasons in a climate sometimes described as long, cold winters and short hot summers. We are now passing slowly from the former to the latter. Many of my friends pay close attention to the problem of climate change and global warming. Passing into a warm season means for us, attention to the outside. We just had our riding mower picked up yesterday for servicing. We have a reliable firm nearby that specializes in riding mowers and snowplows.
Climate change is basically a threat of too much heat but tricky changes can bring cool and cold in places. Places like the countryside don't especially generate or trap heat. We have been toying with the possibility of genuine warmth but have not really had much of it.
More warmth and longer sunlit days mean we can get out and pay attention to plant beds around our house. Those long winters give us uninterrupted time indoors and I am not used to thinking about what needs doing outside. For most of the winter, there is basically no outside.
My wife is the sort of Nordic person who relishes time outside in nature. She keeps an eye on the plants and the birds. Now, the spring birds are increasing in number and variety. Today, we saw our season's first rose-breasted grosbeak and I saw a flash of an oriole. Lynn has already put the specialized oriole feeder and the hummingbird feeder out.
We have seen our resident male bluebird rigorously body check a woodpecker he is trying to drive away from the area near his nest and sexual behavior in the birds and squirrels.
