The Ups and Downs of Early Spring

March 19, 2023

Sunrise on a chilly March 14, 2023 morning

March 17th. The sun peeked out from under the clouds as it was about to set, casting an eerie glow on the clouds above. In the light I saw snowflakes falling. Five minutes later the clouds were gone as was the snow. Saturday morning the wind chill is expected to hover around 0F (-18C). Next week it will warm up 30-40 degrees and we’ll have thunderstorms. This is definitely the March I know - up and down. March Madness doesn’t limit itself to basketball courts.

The ice sculptures are smaller, but a bit of ice managed to form overnight.

Spring arrives this week, so the calendar says. The first day of spring is my mother’s birthday and her father’s before her, a date when I miss two people I dearly love and a date that carries the promise of renewal and new life. As I wrote last year, spring is in my blood and in my bones.

As I read through last year’s post, I note we are running a little later this year in terms of bird migration. I’d say behind schedule, but nature assuredly keeps her own schedule and each year is a little different than the last. Yet here they come, the birds of spring so I thought I’d celebrate a few of the new arrivals:

First of the excellent bug eaters (aka flycatchers), the Eastern Phoebe. I can spot that tail bob from a good distance! Always one of our first spring arrivals.

Red-winged blackbirds make sure everyone knows they are back! With all the destruction around the neighborhood, it was good to see them at the pond (which thankfully sits in a designated park area - small but should remain!).

Some birds can make any day a good day - and loons are definitely one of them! This one is still changing into his party clothes (aka breeding plumage). I never know if this will be the first of many or one of few so I stayed as long as I could.

The first of what should be many ducks, a small group of ring-necked ducks stopped by the neighborhood pond.

The year-round residents are making their presence known as well. The morning song grows louder every day and there are more squabbles among robins and even deer (I do wonder why the female deer seem to be chasing each other lately but I don’t know!).

She was busy running from another doe when she finally noticed she was coming straight towards me.

The house finches are singing outside my window every day.

This year my inner world feels stormy. Work is challenging me to grow and I feel a lot of up and down inside myself. Growing takes energy - and requires extra rest and more awareness to retain some kind of balance. Last year I was feeling more poetic, you can read last year’s post here:

The First Day of Spring

Lucky for me, when the words are quieter inside the images can often speak for themselves. Here are a few more to round out this week.

Lots of ring-billed gulls gathering, all too soon they will head north as well.

The waning moon is almost back to new again (this was March 14, 2023)

Found a fungi creature, a sign of how the rains have returned this year.

Many more cooties have arrived as well, so our little winter guy is no longer lonely.

Take good care friends. Thank you all for being here! Let me know what’s happening in your part of the world, whether it’s the transition to spring or the transition to fall.