Laughing with Di – June 2021

We are approaching summer. What have our flora, fauna and bugs been up to this spring?
Let’s have a laugh.
There’s a sign in Valencia at a busy intersection flashing, SLOW DOWN and then after a heartbeat, DUCK CROSSING. It made me chuckle. First, because waddling ducks were important enough to bring to the attention of drivers and, second, why would a mother duck cross a six-lane road with her ducklings anyway? But, that’s none of my bird business.
Last year, I shared that a hummingbird made a nest on our patio. Once again eggs are laid and we await more babies. I wonder if mom is the same hummingbird from spring 2020? Did she write down our address so she could find us again? How long do hummingbirds live? (I looked it up and we can expect 3 to 5 more years of this.)
And, notwithstanding all of our efforts to avoid nest building in our human space – raptors found a way (remember Jurassic Park?) – and slipped another one in anyway. Where are all the fathers of these birds? Do they rush through mating so they can relax on Father’s Day? All we see are hard-working moms, building, sitting on eggs, waiting…. It’s like we have a sign in some bird language or on Twitter (Do birds use Twitter? Should birds use Twitter?) that says, “Nests wanted!”
Also, the flora exploded. Our aloe plants have dramatically made their presence known with stalks of budding flowers that are taller than me! Nature has spoken.
Venturing into the bug realm, many states are dealing with the return of cicadas. In California, there are 65 species of cicadas, but in smaller numbers because they emerge annually not every seventeen years!
So, let’s celebrate plants, birds, bugs and especially fathers too!