Hey tweets, I've been going to the Fill nearly every day again and have seen 84 species this year - remarkable, considering the amount of wood chips WSDOT has deemed necessary to spread everywhere. If Smaug valued wood chips instead of gold chips, he'd be one happy dragon right now. Ultimately, I hope the wood chips decay into mulch, enriching what is otherwise very poor soil and perhaps encouraging grasses to return. We shall see.

In the meantime, here it is St. Patrick's Day already, and Violet-green Swallows are swirling everywhere, reminding us that nature is resilient, spring is here, and the migrants are returning to our Emerald City. Here is a poem I wrote for you today, noting that one of my favorite birds is on the way:

A wonderful bird is the vulture,
Though many would say he's uncultured.
He eats rotten meats
and prefers older eats,
But gardeners are glad he's a mulcher.

- Connie, Seattle

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