I remember hearing the Hermit Thrush while on walks through the woods of northern Michigan with my dad.

Sing along…

It’s May.

This flowering tree in all its glory was in my parents’ backyard in Ohio. I took the picture in May 2013, the last spring I was there before they moved to Cincinnati later that year.

Even if we have to maintain social distance, we are getting to that time of the year in the Northern Hemisphere where things are coming out of their hibernation; blooming, blossoming, leafing out, and renewing.

Something to crow about.

My mom asked me to send her the bird book so Dad could identify the visitors to the feeder outside his window.  It turns out that the only bird book I have is the one I got when I was ten and my dad and I would go birding in the woods near our house on the banks of the Maumee River.  It came in handy when we set up the feeders in the side yard and got our winter visitors.

This is the book: A Field Guide to the Birds by Roger Tory Peterson. As you can see, it’s gotten a lot of use over the last 58 years or so, including being a chew-toy for a puppy. But I’ve carried it with me to the various places I’ve lived, including Colorado, New Mexico, and Florida where I was able to add the birds of the subtropics such as the snowy egret and anhinga.  I went online and ordered Dad a new copy.

There are newer editions of the book with updated pictures and descriptions, but one of the comforts of it is that it’s still arranged in the original order so when Dad’s new copy arrives this week he’ll be able to go through it just as he did when I was a kid — and he did when he was also a kid — and know his friends out at the feeder.

Harbingers of Spring.  I have never seen a robin in South Florida, though.

Here’s something you can do outside with all the social distancing you need.

Fun facts about our friends, the chickadees.

Some of the best times I had with my dad were going birding.  Cardinals were common in Perrysburg and frequent visitors at our backyard feeders, and even today my parents get them at their feeders in the place where they live now.  Even though they’re called Northern Cardinals, we have them here in South Florida.  Enjoy.

The orchid fully bloomed.

The duck practices social distancing.

This is Renny, our office duck at AIE.  Every office should have a duck.

Either they’re filming “Guardians of the Galaxy Part 3” on my patio, or I’ve discovered what’s been making that strange noise in the attic.

Some people have plastic pink flamingos in their yard.  I have real white ibises dining al fresco.