Five Reasons I Know Spring is Here
It’s about two weeks early, but spring has just suddenly “happened” here.
How do I know?
- The snow is completely gone… EVERYWHERE!!! All that deep snow disappeared amazingly fast, melting in days instead of the usual weeks. We have had only one day of really warm spring-like temperatures so far, but having no snow makes such a difference.
- Our hand-dug ponds were covered with thick ice less than two weeks ago, but the ice has melted and we’re starting to see lots of frogs again. Three days ago we were pleased to hear them “singing” for the first time, and the sound is getting louder every day as more and more frogs join in. Soon the surface of the water will be almost covered with eggs.
- I’m finding flowers… and as always, the crocuses are popping up in the most unexpected places. These plants never stay where I wanted them to grow, but it’s a welcome sight this time of year to find them anywhere. The bloodroot is beautiful today with all of the petals open in the bright sun. They have been budded for a few days, but the petals haven’t been open because it has been mostly cloudy. The lungwort is blossoming everywhere. This time of year I welcome its blue and pink flowers wherever it has decided to take root. Later on in the season is plenty of time for wishing it grew less enthusiastically here. The primroses, of course, have been flowering under the snow for much of the winter, but the plants are heavy now with new buds, ready to open. I love primroses! And in the woods, the hepaticas are starting to bloom.
- The bears are on the move and are very vocal as they search for a mate. Their call is three long, drawn-out hoo’s, repeated again and again for literally hours at a time. The calls sound closer or further away as the bears move through the woods. Yesterday we could hear a bear in the woods across the road from our house being answered by another bear in the woods behind our house. Some of the calls sounded amazingly close… so close, in fact, that one of the neighbors walking past said it sounded like one bear was on our back porch. Happily, this time it was not.
- Every spring since the first year we built this house, little Phoebe birds have built a nest on the outside top ledge of the large bow window in our living room. They raise two families of babies each year in this safe, protected spot. According to the calendar it is a little early for the nest building to begin, but this morning I noticed the birds are already working on the nest and are busily bringing in new nesting material.
Yes… it most definitely is spring!
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