Reeds

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Only the wind sings
in black bird's abandoned home-
on-stilts


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     The red-winged blackbird, a common summer resident along the shore and marshes in the Northeast, is a true harbinger of spring.  It arrives in February and a walk in the wintry preserve will bring hope to the heart of cold- weary northerners.  The bird has a distinctive call, heard here at Bird Jam and can be found wherever there are cattails, reeds and other marshland grasses growing.

    They nest among the tall grasses and are usually gone from my area by late August.  During nesting season they are known to be quite aggressive. On a number of hiking trips,  I have  been chased by  a  fearless  red-wing when I  veered too close to a nest!

   The sound of the wind in the reeds in autumn and winter  is one I am familiar with and have written about before, in prose and poetry.  This marsh grass, so much a part of my home all year round, seems to contain an echo of the birds who only come for a brief visit.

     My next project is to learn how to get my words onto my image, a computer skill I am not privy to at present.  Perhaps I need a program to accomplish this.

       Today's prompt for Haiku Heights is 'grass.'