It is a precarious and painstaking venture to preserve what we have built and grown during a harsh winter. Down south we don't have harsh annual winters. In fact, we have such light winters at times that we begin to get overconfident and plant a little more, build out a little more and attempt to bring Mother Nature into our circle a little more because the ice and seldom snow may not even come, and nature will hardly even slow down. But the harsh winter does occasionally hit, and all is lost. My oldest son and I both say we will not be doing this much again. Every time.
My windowsills become crowded with cuttings I try to root during the winter months. The green onions and celery I cut down for cooking gets planted to regrow. Porch plants get placed on the floor by back doors and windows to wait out the frigid air. The recent term given to me was "winterizing" your plants. For me it is triage. What I know will grow back I let go. The ferns I get tired of replacing come in. And the fruit trees still in pots get babied.
One year I even ordered what I thought was going to be a cool way for all of us to enjoy nature throughout the cold months. I ordered these bird feeders that can be placed in a partially open window. The window closes on top of the feeder holding it in place. And a clear plastic semi-circle comes into your home. Once bird seed is placed within this alcove the birds can fly in and eat at their pleasure while the cold winds blow, and grandchildren can watch this in the warmth of our home.
I was so excited about this that I ordered three of them. No, it had not occurred to me that this would keep me from being able to lock my windows. I reassured my husband that we live on three acres in a safe neighborhood. And who wants to break into a house in the dead of a cold winter?
It did not occur to me that birds only eat the inside of the seeds and leave the shells. My bird feeders outdoors shed these shells into the grass or bushes. They rot and build back into the soil. This happens so mindlessly that I have never paid much attention to the amount of seed shells that are left behind.
I also did not think about the battle of Mother Nature when winter is cold and animals up their diet to stay warm. Never before did I witness this first-hand until my breakfast room and kitchen window turned into World War III and our dogs were traumatized, the grandchildren were quite freaked out, and I had a mess to clean up.
It was all quite exciting waiting on the birds to discover their new precious havens for refuge and nutrition.
First it was a host of cute little gray birds that would hop in and out early in the morning as the sun was just coming up.
Then word must have spread because multiple birds were coming and going to the point that I was dumping in piles of seeds that were leaving scattered shells all over the patio.
But aside from the mess and vulnerability to bad guys, the adventure was underway. That was until the squirrels noticed the free food. It quickly became squirrels fighting Blue Jays and then squirrels fighting squirrels and the serene interaction with Mother Nature became a war zone that shoved the feeder out of its place over my sink and a disaster ensued.
And in the mad chaos the only calm one was the husband with the smug "I told you so” expression." Needless to say, the feeders went into the garbage. The windows were locked shut and the birds and squirrels were left to fend for themselves. And I put nature back in its place to enjoy it from a distance.
To everything there is a season.
