Groundsel

Yep, things are changing out there every day. The bright yellow groundsel (Senecio sp.) is popping out all over the place, in yards that haven’t yet been scalped by mowers, in low fields along the highways and just about everywhere else there is a little sun and some moisture. It really is just about the earliest jubilant thing out there – wildflowerwise. This one is in our yard, which hasn’t seen the ministrations of Mr. John Deere since November.

Bird stuff. I saw four little blue herons at dusk today flying out over the river and headed for a comfortable roost somewhere in the swamp. This is the first of these that I have seen since they pretty much all left for warmer climes last year. Pretty soon there will be hundreds flying over at the end of the day, going somewhere to sleep. Also saw the first painted bunting, a female, in the yard last weekend. That green color resembles nothing so much as a parrot, it seems to me. I reported it during the Great Backyard Bird Count on Monday, along with three others that were reported by other people in the state. And, a red-shouldered hawk was eating carrion on the roadside, kind of demeaning for the raptor, but, hey a free meal is a free meal.

The river is at 6.2 on the Butte La Rose gauge today, going to 5.0 by Sunday. Ohio and Mississippi are in a slow fall.

Rise and Shine, Jim