Spring, as they say has Sprung.

Or

The arrival of Demeter and Persephone
To the ancient Greeks, spring and summer signified the six months when Persephone returned from the Underworld, and her mother Demeter made the earth bloom and grow bountiful after her absence.

Now, of course this was written for the more northern climes, so for us mere southerners, perhaps Demi and Seph get two goes at coming around. Facts should never get in the way of a good yarn.

Now a good rollikin’ Greek legend has many a twist and turn
The good Bard used a variation of the story in his play, “A Winter’s Tale”, with the basic structure recalling the myth of Persephone, a beautiful young girl abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld, from a flowering field where she was playing. Allowed to return six months of every year to the earth’s surface, Persephone’s comings and goings explain the cycle of winter and summer.
Demeter, of course, is the one that negotiates the release of her daughter, and so every year as Spring rolls around mother and daughter are reunited and the earth,—because of Demeter’s happiness, blossoms and new life develops .
The Bard, in his way, used a tad or more of poetic licence on the basics of the story.

Fascinating, I’m sure, but I’m also sure that the flocks of Welcome Swallows, and Fairy Martins are driven by more than a whimsical legend or an English poet/playwright.

We had decided that as the sun was shining and the wind wasn’t howling, that a trip down to Werribee South Marina,(and coffee shop) would be a pleasant way to spend the morning in the sunshine.
Close by to the waters edge, there were still few tiny puddles of water, and some mud. For the next 30 minutes or so the Fairy Martins and Welcome Swallows swept in to collect material for their little nesting projects. Wouldn’t it interesting to know how many trips they each made, but they must have had a site quite local, as no sooner did they seem to depart than they were back for another load.
The small area of mud was alongside a busy footpath. (The sunshine bought out not only Demi and Seph but all the locals for their dog-walk and coffee fix) The little birds seem to pay it all no attention, lifting off if disturbed, to circle about and re-land.
Such is dedication. Demeter would be proud
And such was the action that a pair of Magpie-larks joined in as well. However I missed seeing their mud collecting.

On the way home we stopped for a few minutes as there is a family of Magpies on the corner of a close street. How close? Well between EE and I we walk past the tree several times a week, in the early first light of morn.

I went by earlier in the week and didn’t notice anything unusual, but Mrs Maggie has been very busy and has in just a few days constructed a very secure, if somewhat open planning nest. Suitably festooned with discarded building site materials. Colour Coordination is obviously important to throughly modern roadside Magpies. I’m thinking I might name her Persephone.

As I can easily see the nest from the footpath, I do hope to keep a track of the comings and goings as the season progresses.

Enjoy