Change

Now that the temperatures are consistently above zero, we can see REAL changes start.

 

The lake is blackening, robins are singing and the snow continues to melt.  Soon, the fields will begin to green, amphibians will be active - spring peepers will start calling and the roadsides will be studded with turtles on the move, and the first leaves on trees will pop.

 

This time last year, daffodils were already in bloom.  Not so this year, but very good things come to those who wait.  Anticipation can make the reward that much more sweet, and the lush, green spring and early summer that is coming will be sweet indeed.

 

 

Spring Forward

Melting snow, mud and turning the clocks ahead are all simple reminders that the first day of spring is only two weeks away.

Hope you are outside enjoying this lovely day!

The Giant

Just like our enormous icicles of last year, we have a new crop growing.

 

I haven't measured this one yet, but I estimate it at around six feet.  Just a few more inches and it will touch the snow on the deck.

It's a Mad, Mad World

It's shaping up to be another absolutely gorgeous early spring day here on Maple Lake.  The birds are singing, the sun is burning off the mist over the lake, and the breezes are fresh and warm.

Let me put this in perspective for you.  Normal highs this time of year are 3C.  Today's high is forecasted to be 17C.  Madness!

The weather is doing wonderful things for the human spirit.  People are happy, laughing, thrilled with the warmth.  You can't help but want to get out and about and busy when the days are like this.  How great it is to throw off winter's oppression and fling open all the windows and doors.  To wear shorts.  In March.

That's all well and good for us humans, but what about the natural world?  What about those chipmunks that are drawn out of hibernation from the warmth of the sun?  The daffodils being coaxed from the cold earth?  The fat, red, almost bursting maple buds?  Unlike us, these natural phenomena don't rely on man-made calenders, they depend on the seasons behaving as they ought to!  I'm certainly not packing away my winter gear yet, but who is going to tell the chipmunks that?

My fear is that the next hard frost (and don't doubt that there won't be one!) will negatively impact the new, too early growth.  If the trees start to leaf out and we get a hard frost, we can expect that delicate new foliage to die off.  Likewise, if some early plants such as garlic get a head start, and then are killed off by the returning cold,  farmers can lose an entire crop.

Here's hoping the return to cold before true spring emerges is an easy one.

From the Weather Book

March 14
- really gorgeous day
- slush, mud, melting

March 15
- intense thunderstorms overnight

March 16
- fantastic, gorgeous day ...14C
- robins singing everywhere

March 17
- thunderstorms in the morning
- fog and mist
- high water, open along the shoreline
- what I believe to be an otter spotted on the ice. It looks too big to be a muskrat to me. If you know better, let me know!



Look at that little tail!