Birds and Greens

~There's a bird here in Idaho that I love. I don't know its name--in fact I've never even seen it up close. But in the beginning of spring its song always makes me think of a drop of water falling into a pool. In late spring, like now, the song sounds like more of a call but still has that distinctive up, down, up quality. This year there seems to be one bird that has sung its song much more often and later into the spring than I remember from other years. It's been a treasure.
~The other day I caught a glimpse of a yellow meadowlark sitting on one of the trellises in our new flower garden like a fleeting benediction.
~I've been doing most of my planting in the evenings when its cooler. I listen to the sounds of the neighborhood as I work--dogs barking, children riding bikes and playing their games, traffic, the pick-up soccer game at the elementary school field a few blocks away. Most of all I like listening to the birds. The robins get really upset when a cat walks under the tree where they've built their nests. But then things calm down and they all tell each other good night for awhile.
~We've been eating lots of spinach lately. We have a ton. The leaves are getting really big--larger than my hand. I wish I could give you all some.
~Did you know that lettuce straight from the garden has lots of taste? A piece of red leaf lettuce has a really bright taste--almost spicy.