Spring Signs

 

 

They are beginning to add up.

 

• The birds are noisier.
  
• The ducks are jostling for space on the creek, which is flowing.
  
• There are bare patches where old grass is showing through.
  
• Birch catkins are beginning to swell.
  
• Some of the trees are thickening with swollen buds.
  
• The light lasts longer.

There is hope. And some views I can't get enough of. (Though I do prefer some times of year over others...)

A Nice Warm-up and Melt-down

   It has risen above freezing for the last several days, and is likely to continue doing so for several more.  Might even hit 50 degrees tomorrow.  It is hard to walk around the yard, as the snow has become wet and soft, but it is still deep in most places.  The paths we use frequently are beaten down so we can walk on top of them, but every now and then you break through and sink down to the ground.  Yesterday I lost a boot in the snow while checking out the creek. 

It has been beautifully sunny and gentle.  We even went out for a bike ride Saturday.  The buds are swelling on the lilacs and a few other bushes, and the creek is beginning to flow a little. 

Rabbit damage continues to grow.  The Bridal Wreath Spirea will likely have to be cut back to the ground in spring, so there may not be flowers this year.  It will be fine, though in the long run.  The Cooper's Hawk is around daily, but seems not to be reducing the number of rabbits or squirrels much. 

There are so many finches and chickadees and juncos around the feeders that it sometimes seems to be just churning with life.