Karen’s Opinion

Maybe it is because my mom is full blooded Dutch. Maybe it is because I grew up in the beautiful state of Washington where tulips grow in vast fields of color. Tulips are my favorite flower.

I am ready for spring to arrive and stay. We have been teased with a few warm days here and there. I want to be able to count on warm weather and being able to put away my winter coat! May first is the official beginning of spring. I hope it delivers a beautiful, sun shiny, warm day.

This past Sunday, I attended a spring luncheon with my mother in-law. It was held at mil’s church which happens to be the church where my husband and I were married. It was fun to sit and look at the beautiful wood beams and awesome stained glass windows while listening to the speaker. After moving to the fellowship hall of the church, we enjoyed cookies and punch and visited with the other ladies at our table. The lady sitting next to me enjoys sewing as much as I do so it was fun to catch up on what projects she has been tackling.

The tables were decorated with such simple flower arrangements and table cloths that we all exclaimed how easy it must have been to make the room so beautiful. These cute little paper cups were filled with a flower and were at each of our place settings. Mil gave me her flower so now I have two to plant!

A ding dong of a robin is trying to drive me crazy. We have 10 windows in our lodge room and it is going from window to window, slamming itself against the glass. Why?

I tried to find information on why it is doing this and how to stop it but found no results.

Since I have started seeing Robins the past few days I thought to myself that I really don’t know very much about them. So I did some research.
Did you know?

The American Robin is 25–28 cm (10–11 in) long. It weighs about 77 g (2.7 oz). It has gray upper parts and head, and orange underparts, usually brighter in the male; the similarity between this coloring and that of the smaller and unrelated.

During the breeding season, the adult males grow distinctive black feathers on their heads; after the breeding season they lose this eye-catching plumage.As with many migratory birds, the males return to the summer breeding grounds before the females and compete with each other for nesting sites. The females then select mates based on the males’ songs, plumage, and territory quality. The females build the nest and lay three or four blue eggs in the lined cup. Incubation, almost entirely by the female is 11-14 days to hatching, with another 15–16 days to fledging. Two broods in a season are common. The adult male looks after the fledged chicks while female incubates her second clutch.

Some people enjoy the Robin’s presence, and want to protect the chicks; they do this by building nesting shelves for the Robin’s use. Bird banders found that only 25% of young robins survive the first year.
Robins are frequently seen running across lawns, picking up earthworms by sight. In fact, the running and stopping behavior is a distinguishing characteristic. When stopping, they are believed to be listening for the movement of prey. Without showing symptoms, the American Robin is sometimes a carrier of the West Nile virus in the Western hemisphere. This is the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin.