The hummingbirds have returned. The males arrived in late April and the females arrived last week. Now there are fierce, whirring helicopters swirling around the feeders as they establish territories and hopefully build nests of cobwebs and moss. There are three kinds of woodpeckers nesting somewhere in the area, and the wrens won out on the nest box this spring. There were three bats in the bat house last I looked, the mason bees have adopted the bee house again, and the toads who took over the pond a month ago have finally left, allowing us a full nights sleep. I notice that the lotus flower and the lilies are pushing up leaves, and the water iris is about to bloom. All this means that spring is well underway, even though it's still pretty chilly. I hear warmer weather is on the way.
