Gifts of May

The scent of catalpa trees in bloom is as good as honey locusts in bloom, but not as strong.  After a run to the store for milk and bananas, we put them on ice and ventured into Whitesburg Preserve for "a short walk."  We wound up staying quite a bit longer watching all the birds squawking at the red-shouldered hawk who was hanging out near an Oriole nest.  The male Baltimore Orioles were the most aggressive, poking the hawk on its behind.  The baby rose-breasted grosbeak and other birds (warblers, vireos, robins, cardinals, woodpeckers) flitted about non-stop.  After about twenty minutes of bird theater, we walked to the bird hide where two teenage boys were relaxing after working at a local restaurant.  They were fun to talk with and well mannered.  On our way out, we noticed the hawk had moved on and the other birds had settled down.