And so this happened

and this happened

and these, too!

I'd say spring is on the horizon!

Come on, Ella!

Amphibians do it, too!

red-spotted newts

frog eggs above and below

Lake Cheston ABCedarian: O

is for Orange (with a touch of red).

Red-spotted Newt

Autumn Meadowhawk (male)

"Why does this make me happy?"

A friend emailed today to recount her four straight days of garden work.

She finally sat down this afternoon and saw the first Ruby-throated Hummingbird of the season.

"Why does this make me happy?" she asked.

I don't know.

Nor do I know why the Bluets,

Six Pointed Fishing Spider,

mating Red-spotted Newts,

or season's first emergent dragonfly, the Springtime Darner,

make me happy.

But they do. 

Ain't spring grand?

The Pleasures of the Internet

After today's walk, I came home, uploaded and viewed my photos, and stared and pondered.  I was puzzled, but only a bit, by the delicate stop-and-go dance I witnessed between two Red-spotted Newts.

Mating? I wondered.

I have finally learned that what sometimes looks like violence isn't and the male is frequently smaller.

Here's what I found after Googling "Red-spotted Newts mating":


Now, honestly, how much better is that than my picture, which I shot into moving water while facing the sun?

Please.

Don't answer.

I know already.

What I Wished for Today

The way
red-spotted newts
hang in water,
stilled, then undulant
with a wave,
to float again:
that elegance
that weightlessness
that ease
that suspension
in what holds
them.