more evidence of spring.

the great blue heron is back. i saw him wednesday afternoon walking home from work. at least, i assume it's a him. one would expect the females to be sitting on eggs this time of year, not standing nonchalantly in a creek maybe a hundred feet from traffic.

and i saw a bluebird this year! apparently, they're coming back to the area. it's odd, development hasn't slowed a bit, but we're getting birds back. not only bluebirds and herons, but raptors as well. i've seen more hawks in the past year or so than i ever saw when i was a kid. my dad and i figure that now all the farms are being turned into developments, farmers aren't killing them anymore. funny how that works, isn't it? you'd expect the destruction of open space to result in the destruction of the wildlife, not cause it to thrive. i suppose the alternative explanation is that as human growth encroaches on what used to be the animals' habitat, human-animal interaction will increase, cf. mountain lions in california. i'm not entirely sure that works around here, though, because it's not wild open space that's being built on, but rather space that was already human-occupied. not that i'm an ecologist or an environmental scientist either. perhaps some research is in order. i have heard from other sources already that the eastern bluebird, at least, is actually experiencing a resurgence in this area.

also, all of my tomatoes have now sprouted. would anyone like some tomato plants? :)