Thursday, March 15, 2012

Buds, Blossoms and Baby Birds

Think spring my little clayers!
Spring is peeking its head up around the country and if you have been cloaked in a cold and white winter, those little signs that spring is coming are a welcome change. Just as buds begin to open up, tiny petals begin their push up from the frozen ground.
The clay artists of the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild on Artfire know how to make spring sing.
Rejoice in the signs of spring like this dancing fairy from Creative Critters. Fairies are the first to know when spring is on the way, so we have to assume that she knows something that we cannot see yet. She knows where all the new shoots are hiding. 



Like dancing fairies, birds know when spring is right around the corner and they get busy building nests and collecting items to tuck away for their brides to be. The constant singing in the spring from the mockingbird goes on day and night during a full moon. While noisy, it does signal a very happy bird.
Bluebird males show the females the prospective nesting sites even though the ultimate decision belongs to her. Sound familiar?
These two little bluebirds are whimsical and appear to be speaking to each other about a nesting decision. Rather reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, these perched birds are certainly a sign of spring in the mountains. Amy Crawley has captured the bluebird in a most amusing way.

During the winter, I get to keep the hummers on my back porch as they ravage my honeysuckle vine, while my folks mope about in Illinois as a frozen hummingbird feeder blows back and forth abandoned.
As spring rolls around and my drunken robins start to get their acts together and head back north, I notice less and less of my hummers outside. I have to assume that they are headed up the coast to visit all of their northern families.
While I see a lot of different varieties of hummers, none are as wonderfully unique and delightful as the hummingbirds that flow from the imagination of Lynn at Desert Rubble. A little bird and a little steampunk, this industrial industrious little bird is quite the looker. If you see him around, it is springtime.

Yes, springtime comes in many different colors and signs, but most of all, it comes with new life and the re-energizing of sleepy souls.
Happy Spring!
Julie and Blu