Brad's Music Room

Spring is Officially Here!

Today is the first day of Spring. (or the first day of fall if you live in Australia). I hope where you are that you are beginning to see new growth on plants that were destroyed by the hard freeze of winter. In January we experienced a hard freeze that killed the foliage on my perennials. A few years ago we lost a large percentage of our landscaping during an exceptionally cold winter (by San Antonio standards). Therefore I am always a little nervous until I see evidence that my plants have survived. Normally things begin to start turning green around late February or early March. This year unseasonably warm temperatures in February gave us an early Spring.

Although changes happen all year they are perhaps most obvious in the Spring. Landscapes turn from brown to green right before our eyes. Seemingly dead branches on deciduous trees sprout new leaves. Spring rains awaken those plants that had been lying dormant throughout the winter. Flowers begin to bloom.

South Texas Springtime

In Texas wildflowers cover the land alongside our highways courtesy of Lady Bird Johnson. As First Lady, Lady Bird started a capital beautification project (Society for a More Beautiful National Capital). It was intended to improve physical conditions in Washington, D.C., for both residents and tourists, by planting millions of flowers, many of them on National Park Service land along roadways around the capital. She said, “Where flowers bloom, so does hope.”

She worked extensively with American Association of Nurserymen (AAN) executive Vice President Robert F. Lederer to protect wildflowers and promoted planting them along highways. Her efforts inspired similar programs throughout the country. She became the first president’s wife to advocate actively for legislation when she was instrumental in promoting the Highway Beautification Act, which was nicknamed “Lady Bird’s Bill.” It was developed to beautify the nation’s highway system by limiting billboards and by planting roadside areas.

These miracles happen everywhere, every day. Sarah McLachlan wrote a song to help explain this phenomenon. Ordinary Miracle is the theme song from Charlotte’s Web. She sang Ordinary Miracle at the 2010 Winter Olympics’ opening ceremonies.

Yesterday I was watching a pair of wrens build a nest in the birdhouse just outside my breakfast table. Soon there will be baby wrens peeking out in search of food.

Watching the bird feeder I marvel at the different habits of the various birds at my feeder. Why do the finches feel comfortable staying on the perch consuming sunflower seeds but the titmice take a seed and fly back to the tree to eat it? For that matter, why do birds sing?

“In the spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love,” the saying goes. The same may be said of birds. That’s because spring is when most birds turn to family obligations—they mate, build nests, lay eggs and raise young. Why do birds sing so much during this time, though?

Singing is an important part of the breeding cycle, which begins when migratory male birds reach their nesting grounds. They usually arrive before the female birds, giving each male time to establish a nesting territory and defend it against other males of the same species. Singing is a form of communication that reinforces this ownership—announcing through bird songs that “this is my territory.”

Female songbirds usually arrive on the nesting grounds a week or two after the males. As they pass through, they hear the males singing. If a song attracts them, a female will stop to look over the male, check his plumage to determine if he has desirable genes, and then explore his territory. It is the female that selects a mate.

This morning I was awakened by the songs of a cardinal, titmouse, and white wing dove. This is a daily occurrence during the spring and reminds me of the Bob Marley song “Three Little Birds.” I like the image of the cardinal as the Father, the titmouse as the Son, and the dove as the Holy Spirit. It is a beautiful way to begin every day, having the Father, Son and Holy Spirit remind me everything is going to be alright.