The winds finally let up after 4 days of howling northeast or northwest winds.  Even though the temps got up to 60 or so I couldn’t stand it outside.  The wind really irritates me and makes me feel worn out.  I thought I was just an odd wind hater but at a meeting of gardeners last night everyone was complaining about the wind.

 Today was much nicer, the wind was light, the temperature above 60 and it was sunny this morning although high clouds have filtered the sun now.  The birds were singing and it was a pleasant spring morning.  I had to go into town for chicken feed so I took the back road and I noticed a large rock near the side of the road.  I decided to stop and pick it up for my flower bed.  I then decided why not pick up a few more to outline a new bed I was thinking about making.

 I was driving along stopping to pick up rocks along the road and edges of fields that had just been plowed up when a guy came out from his house laughing and said his wife had seen me from the window and guessed I was collecting rocks for a rock garden.  He said they had a pile of them I could drive right up to if I wanted.  So I did and filled the floorboard of the passenger side.    I was afraid to get too many as my shocks aren’t too good but I wish I had collected just a few more.

 The people around here probably think I’m nuts as I am always stopping the car to take a picture, pick up a plant sample to identify or collecting rocks.  Oh well eccentricity is allowed as you age.   At least my slow ride along the back roads wasn’t as eventful as another lady’s who I saw just after I picked up my rocks.  She had driven her small car off the road into a ditch.  I stopped to ask if she needed help, she was a woman about my age.    She was laughing a bit, said she was embarrassed; she was looking at - one guess- her cell phone and just drove off the road.  The wrecker was on the way.  People never learn about those stupid cells.

 After I unloaded my rocks I went for a brief walk through my pastures and around the pond.  It was not a good feeling when I saw how dry and crunchy everything was.  The pond banks are almost bare - Chance- my stud horse, has been out there eating.  Lily and Lucky’s pasture isn’t much better.  I have some hay here, its stemmy old stuff they don’t like very well but I’m going to start putting it out again.  We really need some rain to get the grass growing.

 I did find an orioles nest blown out of a tree from the high wind.  They make a pouch type nest.  It was made almost entirely from horse hair with some strands of white plastic from woven feed bags and a few pieces of black plastic or nylon strands.  I think that may have come from some black plastic “chicken wire” we had used on some pens.  Inside were some remnants of leaves.

I kept wondering why they picked up what they did to build with.  Horse hair is strong I guess while still being pliable and soft.  I guess they collect what the horses rub off.  The feed bag and plastic wire pieces are odd though.  When did an oriole have the chance to unravel a feed bag?  Nature just has so many things to discover and marvel at.