Slow to spring

Near Uno, Carroll Township, York County PA

Spring is slow to arrive this year. It’s still too early to work the fields. The grass isn’t turning green yet either, despite Sunday’s brief rain shower. Robins have arrived in force, and the sky is filling with raptors migrating north again.

With the coming of a warming climate, I have gotten used to early springs and leaves opening before the warblers arrive. This year seems more like a pre-warming era normal spring, though of course that could change quickly. It’s rather nice to see the year ease into spring for once, instead of exploding into the season. And I can’t help but wonder what this weather will mean for the seasons ahead. The seasons are so unpredictable compared to how they were just 20-30 years ago, that a normal spring now seems abnormal. I try not to think too far ahead, but I’m not very good at that. Trying to extrapolate next month’s weather based on today’s trends is a fool’s habit I don’t seem able to break.

I find I would like to see some green sign of spring somewhere. For one thing, I’m tired of photographing brown woods and fields. A new and tender green shoot pushing through the forest floor would be a nice change. I know they will come. It’s just that this interregnum between snow and spring growth is taking a long time this year.