It may not look it, but spring is happening, I swear! Up until today, we've had a streak of rainy and warm-ish weather, and these woods were showing signs of spring. Skunk Cabbage was blooming (although it's probably been blooming for a while) and starting to unfurl green leaves:
Tiny Trout Lily leaves were coming up, looking like little spears in the snow:
We even found pink flowers on a small leafless shrub that turned out to be a non-native garden escapee, Daphne mezereum:
A couple of Eastern Phoebes were calling and flycatching and working on constructing a nest under the eaves of a nearby house. Hello wonderful birds, and welcome back!
So yes, it felt like winter today, but we're well into the beginning of spring. Spring Peepers have been singing loudly every night (except last night) around our house, and I saw this Red Eft (juvenile Red-spotted Newt) wandering across marshy water at the Roy H. Park Preserve earlier this week:
Hooray for amphibians and flowers and returning birds! Hooray for spring!
Hi Elizabeth
ReplyDeleteOur daughter went to college in Ithaca and we wish she had settled there so we'd have an excuse to visit more often. As it is, we get back at least several times a year. Try to find time to visit the Mulholland Wildflower Preserve at Six Mile Creek towards the end of this month and follow up dinner at Viva's on the Commons for excellent fresh Mexican food. Also not to be missed is the twice-yearly book sale on Esty Street. And the Cornell Lab....and on and on
It's a really great place, for sure. I'll put the Mulholland Wildflower Preserve on my list for later this month!
DeleteGreat reminder that spring is actually coming - in spite of our snow!
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