March 26. The snow is melting, tulip nubs are poking up,
and the deer are starting to migrate back up the hill from their winter yard. Their pointy tracks were all over the road on the hill this morning.
This coming week starts off with a couple of cold (-15C, 5F) nights, then the temperature appears to be on an upward swing, and in the following week, the temps are only just below freezing at night! I don't know what to think. The snow has been melting quickly, and the garden beds are now bare. 
March 18
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| March 26 |
So, is spring here or not? The calendar says so, but,
there is still snow in the immediate forecast, and incidental flurries
showing on the weather graph, over the next two weeks. Of course, it
probably won't accumulate and will melt off quickly.
Last Friday we had our final snowshoe hike around the trails. It was a noisy, clattering business on the crusty bits. We came across a beech tree that the pileated woodpeckers had been working on, the pile of chips around the base a testament to their pecking ability!
Down behind the barn in the orchid patch, last year's seed pods are still held on stems above the snow.
Robins showed up well over a week ago, and red-winged blackbirds are here, about 8 of them hanging out around the feeders, giving the greedy blue jays a run for the seeds. A couple of grackles have shown up, sunshine hi-lighting their burnished iridescent purple heads. The ruffed grouse are starting to drum in the bush around, and a friend living a little bit south of here has seen and heard sand hill cranes flying over.
Yesterday I planted my pepper seeds. They grow relatively slowly, unlike tomato plants, and I like to get them established and pruned for strength so they can hold the weight of the fruit I am hoping they will bear! Tomatoes won't be started until at least mid-April, if I can control the itchy planting fingers until then! A friend has given me some okra seeds for a variety hardy to this zone and I am wondering if they should be started as well.
It is a waiting game now. I'll soon have to get out the 'deer deterrent' fence and place it around the tulip bed, as we expect to see deer grazing in the yard any day now. There is still snow in the bush, especially in shaded and north-facing places, but it is not very deep at all. There seem to be lots of strange bumps in the yard and sink holes along the driveway that we've never seen before. We are wondering if it is because of the frost being able to get further into the ground because of the lack of a good snow cover this winter.
The ice sheet on the pond has floated up on the melt water, and water is flooding out a bit on the north end of the pond.
March 18 (N end)
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| March 26 (S end) |
While filling the bird feeders, I've noticed that the Spongy Moth egg masses (formerly known as Gypsy moth, or Ldd moth) on the apple trees have been pecked away at by the birds. We are hoping that the birds have found out they are a food source, and have made inroads on the egg masses throughout the bush. One can only hope!
Last week on a walk up the road, I noticed this.
Fox tracks. The snow has been melting and settling, and anywhere it had been packed down, even if only slightly by the weight of a fox, who may be between 8 and 15 lbs under all that fur, the tracks stand out like little hoodoos. There is so much water in the snow, my knee was soaked after kneeling in it briefly, to get that close to eye-level shot.
Pancakes in the morning!
We saw our first robins yesterday. Oh, if that pond of yours would freeze solid now, what a beautiful place for skating! We are reading that we should expect up to a foot of snow in the coming new week. What?! Come on, March, give us a break. ;o)
ReplyDeleteUsed to love skating, but now I would be scared of falling and smashing the knee. Any sort of bump against that replacement part in there is very, very painful! The snow will all go....eventually!
DeleteMy B.I.L. out on Opeongo Rd. has made his first maple syrup. It didn't amount to much boiled down, but even that bit, enough for one meal of pancakes, was appreciated.
ReplyDeleteOur garden boxes are starting to peek out too. Unfortunately we still have lots of snow in the yard. We went to look at the rivers this afternoon. They are open and flowing, but still low enough. I don't think we will have flooding this year.
During the spring melt, very early in the AMs, we can hear the rapids of the Sherwood way off. Haven't heard it yet this year, but perhaps because of the shortage of snow this year, we won't.?? Yes, a lot of sap to make a small amount of syrup, but so delicious.
DeleteThe creek by us, which eventually dumps into the Indian River, is pretty high but moving rather sluggish for this time of year. I think the beavers are at work.
DeleteYes, robins and red-winged blackbirds here, too. We’d lost a lot of snow already, but it’s snowing again right now with more to come this week. Oh I love real maple syrup. I’ve noticed more people locally are tapping their own maples on their properties. It does take an awful lot of sap to make just a little syrup but worth it! -Jenn
ReplyDeleteThanks for sending that weather this way, Jenn! Snow and wind all night, and -6C this AM.
DeleteLots of folk around here make maple syrup as well. It takes a lot of boiling down to get to the end product.
What a clever idea about the maple sap! Maple syrup making is something I have absolutely no experience in.
ReplyDeleteSeeing spring emerge is always an exciting time of year. And thank you for showing us your pond! You are lucky to have it.
It averages out to about 40 parts sap to make one part syrup, depending on the sugar content of the sap. An expensive and time consuming business to evaporate, so one can see why maple syrup is so pricey.
DeleteLove the pond for so many reasons, the spring chorus of frogs, the birds, animals and amphibians that frequent it, the reflections in it, and of course, it waters the gardens!
The syrup!!! ☺ Rosalea, I'm not convinced spring is here yet, my fingers are crossed though! The fox tracks are pretty cool!
ReplyDeleteThere are "degrees" of spring! Our weather is yo-yoing...snowed yesterday, mild today. I thought the little snow hoodoos of the fox tracks were pretty neat to.
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