Dawn Silhouette

This morning the sunrise reminded me of a summer morning. Perhaps that was because the sunrise is now occurring further to the north than it did in winter; perhaps it was simply a quality of the color of the sky. In any event, the sunrise was a lovely one and prompted me to take a photo.

The mid-season spring growth is now up and out. I saw the first jack-in-the pulpits this morning. All the mayapples are now in bloom. Some bird species are still missing. I usually have plenty of barn and rough-winged swallows on the slopes at Roundtop. This year I’ve found one or two barn swallows, and those not regulars. I’ve yet to see any Eastern kingbirds, who ply the grassy slopes each summer. The arrival of warblers was a non-event again this year. Warbler waves are not an every year occurrence at the cabin. The best years have come in rainier springs, when the birds roll down the mountainside like so many children at an Easter egg hunt, stopping and starting, this one, now the next one, ahead or behind as they race to find the best bugs. The spring sky was flawlessly clear during much of the warbler migration, which apparently keeps the birds at more typical migration hotspots, such as along streams, rather than on my side of the mountain.

Despite my sense of this morning’s sunrise as a summery one, in other ways, it is still spring. Spring’s weather is as moody as a teenager. Temperatures are all over the place—two nights ago a frost warning, today temperatures are to be in the 80’s. The sun feels warm enough to sit out and read on most afternoons, but as soon as my spot gets shady, it feels too cool to be comfortable. But like the teenaged years, this too will pass, and the balmy days of summer will arrive soon enough.