Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Fun with spring


Spring is such fun! I wander around the forest, poking my nose here and there looking for whatever I can see, watching the morning to evening progress of the growing dog-toothed violet leaves. It’s a treat to be outside without four layers of clothing, to see daylight after my evening meal, to sit outside on the deck and watch the sun set.

You’d think I’d be used to this by now. I’ve seen more than half a century’s worth of springs, but sometimes I think I enjoy them more with each passing year. Spring doesn’t seem “old hat” to me, that’s for sure.

This spring almost appeared out of nowhere. Ten days ago winter’s grip was still tight, with more than a foot of snow on the ground. Perhaps it’s the sudden change of seasons this year that makes this spring seem extra sweet. Most years spring arrives more slowly. Sometimes the transition from winter to spring takes only baby steps or takes as many steps backwards as it makes forward for weeks on end. Not this year.

Last evening, I heard several rumbles of thunder and even that seemed novel. The rumbles didn’t turn into a storm. Still, everywhere I turn it’s something new again. And that’s what makes spring so much fun!

7 comments:

Grizz………… said...

Spring did arrive all of a sudden this time around. I've watched well over a half-century's worth of them come along, too, and enjoy it more and more.

We seem to have taken a bit of a step back as it's pretty cool—low-40s—today and cloudy. BTW, I didn't manage my hoped-for 50 species of birds for the winter. Never added a single species beyond my list of mid-January (45 or so I think was that number). As luck would have it, I got done in by lack of the usual, not the unusual: didn't see a single cowbird or grackle, grosbeak, kinglet, waxwing, or owl of any sort. How can you not see grackles or cowbirds! Or live along a woodsy riverbank and not see an owl!

Ha! And here I was thinking 50-plus-species would be a breeze…

Carolyn H said...

Griz: in my experience, it's usually the "easy" species that do in my bird list. I'll get a couple of unusual sightings and suddenly i'm adding those in to the usual list and coming up with a nice big number...and the the "gimme" birds don't show up. I guess that's what they mean by not counting your chickens before they are hatched.

Carolyn H.

Grizz………… said...

That's exactly what I did. I had three first-time-ever species in my winter count (including an eagle!) and could, so I thought, surely count on most of the old reliables to push me past 50. Easy. A sure bet.

Nope. You know what they say about assuming. There is no sure bet in a bird list. Soooooo, next winter I'll try again.

Jeannette StG said...

Beautiful sunset! As you can guess in California Spring comes earlier, and we already have flowers blooming:) as you can see on my main blog.

Cathy said...

Yes, that's the one about Spring, it's never the same.

I had thunder too and I was like, "was that thunder? or a truck going up the raod" And yes it was because the next thing I saw, a nice flash of lighting.

Excellent photo too

Carolyn H said...

Jeanette: No blooming flowers here yet. I'm still looking!

Carolyn h

Carolyn H said...

Cathy: I was the same way when I heard that first rumble of thunder. It was distant and I wasn't sure. Then a few minutes later I heard it again. I never saw a lightning flash,though.

Carolyn h