Monday, March 26, 2012

More explosions

 After a warm and sunny week, the weekend at Roundtop was a washout—until around 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon when the sun finally appeared. At that point, it was too late to do much exploring in the woods, and everything was still wet and dripping anyway. I did, however, retire to the back deck and spend an hour or so enjoying the feel of the sun on my neck.

I also saw the northbound migration of several black vultures, with a few turkey vultures that did not appear to be local adding to the mix. A red-tailed hawk that may or may not have been a local bird circled in a northbound direction, too. But the real drama came from the local pileated and red-bellied woodpeckers who were involved in a screeching match over something. 

The pileated woodpeckers circled around the cabin, causing an awful racket. They would disappear, still screeching, to the north only to circle around from the south and swoop through the forest again, still raucous. The red-bellied woodpecker mostly ignored the pileated woodpeckers, holding its ground on a dead limb. When the pileated swooped by, the red-bellied would toss off some woodpeckery and possibly vulgar retort, and the whole drama would begin again. Who ever said the woods are quiet?

More flowers popped up in the woods, with coltsfoot, which is normally the earliest of the blooms, finally making an appearance. My favorite local fern, still growing out of a crack in a boulder along the edge of the lane to the cabin, has begun to unfurl its fronds. The rue anemone (or is it a spring beauty?) is blooming as well. When the leaves are no more unfurled than these are, I can’t tell the two apart, even when I have an identification guide in my hands.

The trees are beginning to leaf out, even up on Roundtop Mtn. Down in the valley and off the mountain, there’s no “beginning” about the leafing. They are out and are a good 6 weeks earlier than they should be, to boot. 

6 comments:

Jacqueline Donnelly said...

Yes, spring is coming on fast, although a cold snap and probable freeze this week will doubtless bring it to a halt. Your white flower is probably Rue Anemone. I believe what you call Spring Beauty is what I call Hepatica, which flowers on a naked stem from a cluster of basal leaves that are three-lobed. What I call Spring Beauty is also an early bloomer, but it has only five petals with distinct pink stripes.

Cathy said...

The only problem with all this earlier stuff is a nice blast of cold air. It's 9:47pm already it's 30, with a expected low of 18 tonight. Brr!!!! Kiss some flowers goodbye :(

Also glad I didn't take my flannel sheets off! Now is we can shut up the wind too.

Granny Sue said...

And tonight it's supposed to be 28 degrees here :( What will morning look like, I wonder?

Carolyn H said...

Woodswalker: Temps were in the mid-upper 20's this a.m. Most of my spring beauties have that pink stripe, but not all of them. Within the same patch there is wide variation. They range from more pink to more white, most with strips but some not.

Carolyn H said...

Cathy: I'm glad I didn't take off my flannel sheets, too! I had 26-28 this a.m. So far the vegetation looks undamaged.

Carolyn H said...

Granny Sue: I had 26 and 28 this a.m. No frost on the grass, but I did have ice in the chicken water.