Countdown to "Screes!" in the Trees

Late this summer, my family and I will have lived on this spot for 17 years, which is half of how long Jay and I have been together. So it's safe to say that we pretty much know the seasonal habits around here. Like where to look for the first yellowing trees in August, where the first wild leeks pop up down by the river, where the yellow violets grow and the trout lilies and the wild ginger.

And at this time of year, when the first redwing blackbirds cluster in those trees you can see along the road to the left. The earliest we've ever heard their "Screes!" in the trees is March 19. The latest is March 22. A narrow window, indeed, and a reassuring one.

Over the next three weeks, the landscape pictured here will change dramatically and I've always wanted to capture that in daily photographs. This is the year.

So we're waiting for the flocks to arrive. Their welcome noise is unmistakeable as they sit on the branches gossiping about their flight north and why don't they wait until April because Vermont's weather in March is always awful.

And those of us with ears to hear will exult.