Springtime in South Korea

Springtime in South Korea

    It’s that itchy time of the year in school. No, I am not talking about an outbreak of psoriasis or a rash. Rather it is the time when students begin to look out the windows into the clear blue sky. Back home, the basketball season is over. There is some push to begin college applications and start on those term papers that were assigned a month ago. My own students are not immune to this moment. It is still too cold to really spend a lot of time outside. But the sun is out and its calling for playmates. 

    Now when I leave for work in the morning, the sky is bright and clear. The birds are coming back, led first by the magpies and sparrows. In Korean mythology holds that the magpie is a bringer of good luck. I must be in a lucky place because there are at least seven magpie nests in the trees that are around the school. The magpies love a tall nest.
    A native tree to Korea is a cedar variety that is tall and narrow. When allowed to grow it provides a terrific windbreak. In the fall its leaves turn brown and yet stay on the trees. In these early days of spring, before the leaves have come out, the magpies are house hunting. You can see pairs of them chasing around and picking their nesting sites with care. These nests are big, sometimes two or three feet deep and about he same across. With the cedar leaves gone, you can spot the nests as large black dots in the tops of the trees. And of course, the birds are busy showing off their prowess with flight leaping from the tops of the trees into steep dives and pulling up at the last minute to land on a lower branch and chatter about the experience.
    The water birds are also coming back. A small river runs past my apartment. It is home to the egrets, storks, and ducks. Most of what I see are the white egrets. In the morning you see them a little groggy, standing in the water with their heads tucked under a wing. There are times when I wish I had that option. But they put on a show with their fast action in catching the various water creatures that make up their diet. I think that there is a Micky D’s franchise that keeps them supplied with delicacies fresh from the river.
    The ducks group together in large groups, 10 to 15 birds in a flock. They do not stay long after the sun is up and you can hear them quacking away before they too head out for the morning work. There are some marshlands nearby where they will nest.
    Rice is a water intensive crop. All the back hoe operators and owners are rushing about each and every day to dig out the channels so water can move from field to field. Hoses, pipes, and pumps are being readied. Still a little early to begin planting but the din of the repair shops is being heard in the valley. Part of the reason that so much water is used is that the rice plants need protection from a variety of insect issues and before people really understood the ecosystem the water allowed these bugs to be floated to the top where the birds feast.
    So it’s quiet for now. Only a few birds are up at dawn but that will change as the air gets warmer. Students will get their work done and manage to control their desire to run out of the building to a few moments before and after lunch and on the way to and from school. The backhoes and tractors will mellow out their roar as they go into the fields and once again another crop season will begin.