By Louie Ferrera

I was catching up recently with an old friend during a lengthy phone conversation. After the initial exchange of  pleasantries, she posed the inevitable question, “What have you been up to?” My reply? “I’ve been busy, very busy.”

I’ve been busy watching the lilies. Planted as bulbs in winter, the plants have grown straight and strong, each single stalk sporting between eight and ten zeppelin shaped yellow blossom pods. We were beginning to wonder if these pods would ever bloom when the recent onset of hot summer weather forced the issue. A few of the pods began to show signs of opening at their tips, however, nothing prepared me for what I saw this morning shortly after sunrise. One of the pods had burst forth in a dazzling display of form and color. Six petals had fully opened, each sword shaped tip bent gracefully backwards revealing a bright pink flower outlined in pure white with six stamen at the center. These flowers will be a feast for our eyes for weeks to come as well as a feast for the bees and hummingbirds who no doubt have been anticipating this bloom as much as we have.

I’ve been busy watching the hummingbirds. Throughout the cool spring and early summer their presence had been limited to an occasional bird or two. But it seems that the heat has brought out the hummingbirds too. From the first light of dawn to the last rays of sunset these delightful birds are a constant presence, their zips, clicks and buzzes add a joyful note to the soundtrack of each day. We have five feeders scattered throughout our yard, each one seems to have an “overlord” and an “interloper”. The overlord stands guard over its feeder from a nearby perch. When the interloper tries to steal a sip, overlord zips over and chases away the intruder, both birds doing a crazy corkscrew dance of persuit and retreat. It’s like my own personal Nature Channel, only the voice of David Attenborough is missing.

I’ve been busy watching the other birds too. Spring was alive with the arrival of migrants like tanagers and orioles. Along with the year round residents (towhees, jays, titmice…) all of the birds were busy finding mates and building nests. There was a short period of calm as they went about their domestic business, so many of the birds were a lot less visible. Lately the action has picked up, most notably with the arrival of the juveniles. These youngsters behave much like human children, they’re curious and often allow me to approach them much closer than an adult bird ever would. I can tell they’re trying to figure me out. They’ll soon realize that they need to steer clear of humans.

I’ve been busy watching the bees, their hind legs thick with pollen as they crawl slowly across the lemon yellow and popsicle orange faces of sunflowers. When the clover is in bloom, our lawn is alive with bees too. As they fly from one blossom to the next, I can put my ear up close and hear sweet bee music.

I’ve been busy watching the tomatoes; the pendulous Romas, the pumpkinesque  Early Girls, the perfectly spherical cherries. The latter are always the first to ripen. To bite into a Sungold tomato, aptly named for their sunshiny orange color, is to taste summer itself. I crunch into their skins and the warm, sweet-tangy flavor fills my mouth and nourishes my soul. Many of these tomatoes never even make it into the house. All of the other varieties we planted are still green, but a few have begun to take on the first blush of color, promising a summer of fresh, organic salads. With the bounty of veggies we’ve planted, that salad is but a short walk from our back door, waiting to be created.

I’ve been busy watching the days unfold. The soft yellow light of dawn, the bright white light of midday, the alpenglow of sunset, the purple light of dusk. When it gets dark enough, the various solar lights that we’ve placed around our yard begin to randomly blink on. The globes, lanterns and strings of LED lights add an air of enchantment to the evening.

I’ve been busy watching the moon go through its phases. I understand the scientific explanation for this phenomena but I still find it mysterious and magical.

Like I told my friend, I’ve been busy.