Here they come again, or soon will. The lakes and ponds hereabouts are still partially or wholly frozen but a few more days of this false spring will produce open water and then there will be geese. And arctic swans. And redwing blackbirds. Already the chickadees have switched from 'chick-a-dee-dee-dee' to 'hey sweetie' and the turkey toms are displaying in the trees at the back of the lawn.
The lawn, alas, is slush. The laneway and the roadway are both quakes of miserable mud. The cluster flies have come out of hibernation and are bombing the windows - I have put the screens back on.
But, who cares. Any day now my daffodil garden will appear out of the slush and spring will have, officially, arrived.
Eh, sweetie?
I've seen geese flying around, but maybe they're the silly birds who wintered here.
ReplyDeletemaybe the pigeon crashing into and breaking my kitchen window is a sign that spring has arrived here.
ReplyDeleteAh, so wonderful. It already feels like spring here. I have already noticed new bird songs from the yard, but unlike you, I am unable to identify the source. (I know a few birds and their songs, but hadn't even realized that chickadees were seasonally bilingual...)
ReplyDeleteSpring! It feels like freedom to me! --- And I never noticed that chickadees changed their tune, either. How about that.
ReplyDeleteyes spring is on it's way--even to the frozen north :)
ReplyDeleteRobins came way early here, and I was worried, but then the balmy temps arrived. Today, a downy woodpecker was hammering away, and the tree pollen is giving my allergy-prone students fits. I can see green whips in the spring-flowering trees around here, and the neighbors' tulips and daffs are sending shoots way up. Incredible!
ReplyDeleteIt's all good, if you can ignore a yard full of thawing dog crap.
ReplyDeleteMac, I have thawing turkey and deer poop. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteNance, saw my first robin yesterday evening - but they're not singing yet. Just to-day half of the back lawn emerged and so I guess they have some hunting grounds. Frozen worms, yum.
Kaye, it's way early. Sometimes we don't get this kind of melt until mid-April. But I'll take it.
Jennifer, Alejna, a lot of birds have a mating call. Jays have an amusing spring call; the harsh alarm 'Jay,Jay' is replaced by something that sounds very like 'Doink, Doink' and is accompanied by a body bob (and, no doubt, sly looks at nearby females).
Maypole, hope the window is now replaced and the birds that did it supplied with ice packs for their headaches.
John, I figure the geese are probably as far north as the Clyde: certainly the gulls are in Perth in numbers.
i saw the first crocuses in the yard of what was once my grandmother's house today, as i was out for my walk/jog/lung-torture episode.
ReplyDeleteshe always pointed them out to me the first day of spring. and though i didn't intend to happen upon them, when i did, and realized the date, i felt a great gift.
and your post reminded me. :)
The weather over the next few days might scare spring away for a while. Isn't it an awful tease when it's so nice for so long and then winter makes another appearance?
ReplyDelete