The sun may take its time and the cars may still have frosting some mornings, but according to the ducks on campus spring is definitely here! The drakes are getting terribly excitable and the ducks increasingly irritated. It is amusing to watch though. There are more boys than girls - seems to be a typical problem.
The other morning I walked from the main campus up to the Constable Building. On the way back I took the scenic route via the (rather muddy) lake paths. To my delight I saw six tufted ducks. The main lake is a haven for the 'bully boys' of the water world - seagulls. They compete with the ubiquitous ducks and the hesitant but resillient coots and moorhens. The tufties are cute but I was completely 'made up' when I saw ten water birds I didn't recognise. Low in body, sharp in beak, they looked a bit like mergansers (but I kthink they are more of a sea bird). Making a hasty field note in my work notepad, I hurried back to the office to look them up. Goosanders. Hey, I was close!
The daffodils are starting to thrust their little yellow heads out of their green sheaths, pink cherry blossom is squeezing out its coloured tips and the birds are twittering even more energetically than usual. The ripe sun is streaming through my window and making my computer screen almost impossible to read.
Spring is here. I like it.
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