DWAYNE......

"Spring will come when winter least expects it. It's herald will be rocking this world.." - R. Raphe

There he was. We all grabbed cameras, cell phones,  and binoculars. He had suddenly appeared. In the snow. In the bird bath. "Hello, Dwayne , " I whispered. Dwayne was back.  The bird bath  spilled over.  He stared  at me. I stared back. Our eyes locked.

He was looking very fit. His fixed us with his shiny eyes.  Click click went the camera. A hush developed. We had wondered if Dwayne would return. And here he was. 

Dwayne sat in his bird bath for over an hour.  He wouldn't let any smaller birds share with him. 

He was in peak physical condition.  We thought he could do with some worms. He liked the worms last time. There was still a lot of snow on the ground. Dwayne looked hungry. 

We took a trip to the local Fish store.Where we'd bought a snail and a beta.  They  had worms and stuff. Dried meal worms  for sale. Last year we must have bought over a thousand . Squiggle squiggle.

This year we picked up dried ones , plus live meal worms. Dwayne looked like he needed some extra calories. He was the early bird this year. He spent his days hopping between the birdbath and the dirt piles.  He was bigger than the other birds. He was an impressive sight.

We soaked his dried meal worms ( actually larva of Tenebrio molitor beetle.....fancy sort of name), and got them kind of mushy.  Then scattered them all over what grass patches were showing through the snow.

The blue jays  helped Dwayne eat them. Dwayne was still looking for more.  He hopped at the blue jays, who squawked in regret. An easy meal for them.

Dwayne retreated to his birdbath. He stared at me. More , please.

We decided the live meal worms were next. We had them in the fridge, next to the lemonade.  In a yogurt container, with, oatmeal and bran so they would not starve. Even meal worms have to eat. Before they get eaten themselves. Squiggle squiggle.

We plopped them into a raised dish in the centre of the birdbath. And stirred. So they would look particularly yummy.

I hoped he'd eat them before they froze.  Dwayne poked at them. The meal worms curled  in their dish. Dwayne fixed his beady eyes on me.

He didn't like the dish. So I scattered the 100 or so meal worms, on the same patch of green grass. Dwayne liked that better. He could pick them off one by one. 

He gobbled them up like they were cotton candy. The Jays helped a bit, till Dwayne shooed them off. 

He stuffed himself full. Then sat in his bird bath. I think he wanted more. That meant another run to the Fish  store. Dwayne puffed himself out. He sat in the empty meal worm dish, while the Jays hovered overhead. He flexed his feathers and sat down on his throne.......

Dwayne, the herald of spring, was in the house.....................

Photographs  2024