As the old saying goes, “Spring is in the air.” In my case, spring is on the rooftops and on the baseball fields.
As my kids were having their breakfast and my husband was grinding his coffee beans, we all heard a familiar sound that had been absent over the winter. It was the sound of our resident woodpecker. This woodpecker sounds like a gentler version of a jackhammer on concrete. “Woody” (doesn’t that just want to make you mimic the sound of Woody the Woodpecker from the cartoons?) likes to perch on top of a metal cylinder that protrudes from our chimney. It is the perfect place to see and be seen.
This morning, after several years of hearing Woody’s wakeup call, I went outside in the backyard to get a closer look. Woody is a smallish, colorful bird with a pipette-shaped beak that stands up to some heavy duty drilling. Sitting atop my chimney, he made a warbling sound to announce his presence, looked around to see if anyone was watching, and put beak to metal.
My sons and I burst out laughing. It was a spontaneous cackle that we let out, signaling a mix of amazement that such a small creature could make such a racket and acknowledgment of the quirkiness of this spring ritual. I think Woody took offense at this as he immediately flew off the chimney, to the side of the house. It won’t be the last time that he gets laughed off the chimney nor will it be the last time we hear his jackhammering.
Spring is also on the baseball fields. My husband is the baseball coach for the local high school. It’s his first year working with kids and everyday has the feel of opening day. Well, at least after the first week of practices, it still has that feel. His day is filled with going to Gart Sports for shin guards and baseballs, researching online the best dirt to use to build up pitching mounds (he’s looking for the perfect “Mound Mix”), and figuring out how to keep 17 teenage boys of varying abilities motivated and engaged during practices. I answer calls from parents and kids, asking for Coach Ross, and I have to hold back the temptation to say, “Speaking.” My husband and I vie over who actually did the best coaching on any given day.
As a side benefit to the job, my hubby uncovers some great behind the scenes stories about maintaining baseball fields. This quote comes from the groundskeeper of the New Orleans Zephyrs baseball field, recounting getting ready for a concert on the field:
"If the problem with the trucks wasn’t bad enough, while all of this was going on, our Operations guy had set himself on fire out in the levee. He was trying to light a bird pile on the levee, and got some diesel on him. When he lit the match he caught on fire. He somehow drove himself to East Jefferson Hospital with no feet because both legs were sticking out of the window. We didn’t know how he did it."
Spring doesn’t officially come for another 21 days. Find your own quirky way to celebrate the changing of the seasons.