“And since all this loveliness can not be Heaven,

I know in my heart it is June.”

– Abba Goold Woolson, 19th-century American writer and lecturer

This is it! Things are heating up and I think we are now in for the long haul. There’s no turning back now. The first day of June was accompanied with the gloom we normally expect just prior to and during the first days of summer. A bit out of the ordinary are the thunderheads over the mountains; August is their assigned month. Let’s not get too ahead of schedule; back to spring.

Last week I made mention of our cheery houseguests. By the looks of our front porch, cordoned off with yellow caution tape, one might think the roof overhang was structurally unsound or a crime had been committed. Thankfully neither is the case! The friendly and often flighty friends are not of the human sort, but birds – house finches.

The house finch lives here for many of the same reasons we do – the weather and plentiful food. Interestingly, finches are common in areas where we humans dwell. I believe human activity shields them from predators. They use our houses and other structures to build their nests and find abundant food in our gardens. From what I gather, it is not uncommon for nests to be built under eaves and within hanging door décor. Our case was the latter – an artificial floral basket. This year especially, with the rain and subsequent “super bloom,” our guests are happy ones. Being mostly vegetarian, all the yummy flower and weed seeds are welcome. With the near-perfect weather and climatic conditions, the house finch has no reason to migrate far. At most, during the heat of summer, they fly to cooler mountains. Sounds familiar.

Thus far, no babies; five beautiful blue eggs are being diligently watched over by mom-bird (and us). Incubation is up to 16 days. While we wait, the temperatures are on the rise without a drop of rain in sight.            

Hopefully, by next week, there’ll be a hatching announcement.

Sue Kilpatrick is a Crescenta Valley resident and  Official Skywarn Spotter for the
National Weather Service. Reach her at
suelkilpatrick@gmail.com.

  Sue Kilpatrick