Beautiful tulips in the garden this morning. After working most of the day, we set off into the woods for an aimless ramble, which I haven’t felt steady enough to do for more than a year. We broke from the main path at the bottom of the first hill, and then meandered along various deer trails, up and down, over a few logs, at a slow, contemplative pace. It was blissful.

Like icing on the cake, as we neared the house again at last, I spied the first Indian paintbrush in bloom, right on schedule. The hummingbirds won’t be far behind! This has been a reliable indicator of their arrival for as long as I’ve lived here. Time to get the feeders out of storage and mix a batch of nectar to be ready when the first one arrives. Remember, if you feed hummingbirds, clean the feeders with hot water, or hot water and a very dilute bleach solution: don’t use soap. Don’t use metal feeders as those can injure tender tongues. And never use store-bought nectar, red nectar, red dye: just use 1 part granulated sugar to 4 parts boiled water and stir until completely dissolved. Let the nectar cool completely before filling feeders. Yes, it takes time, thought, care, and attention, but there are so many things that can go wrong and hurt those tender living jewels that it’s worth doing right.

Wren loves that it’s time to find Biko again every evening. She can hardly wait to get out the door before she races around the whole yard looking for him, and then she tells me when she’s found him.