Spring Flowers. Of All Kinds.

It's chilly, but it is still undeniably spring.

Everyday we come across something new blooming. The bloodroot always makes my little heart just melt. Such a lovely little treasure. The may apples are popping up in patches throughout the wood, like little green umbrellas unfurling against the sun.

And last Sunday, there were Daisies. Scouts, that is. I once again hosted an army of little girls for a nature walk. Spring edition. The weather was perfect, and attendance was high. We discussed flowering plants, mostly, but also touched on decomposition and critters. All in all, a nice day. And I think a few of the girls maybe learned something.

And as a reminder, there is NO PARKING up at the gate. Have had to tell a lot of people to move their cars since the weather got so nice.

Signs of Spring

Some nights ago I had a dream about my dog breaking out of the house into the night. He gleefully leaped about the "yard" snapping up frogs. The dream felt very real, as he a) loves eating frogs and b) loves to escape. Although he is a winter dog, he admits there are perks to the summer--eating frogs being the main one.

The following afternoon, I heard something I hadn't experienced in many months: a symphony of frogs. The dream was a premonition!

The week has been filled with interesting elements. It's been fun watching the snow and ice melt away from its final strongholds. There are still a few patches, but I imagine they won't last another week. On Monday I shoveled a dead raccoon off the trail along the berm. Today I removed a downed tree. The pup took care of the sticks. Team teamwork.

Selfie with dog turns into stick getting pushed into chin.

You are the cutest thing that ever happened to forest management.

I saw the first spring flowers opening up beside the cabin--unfortunately they are a non-native garden escapee (siberian squill). Lovely shade of blue, though.

And finally--the willows!

Spring.

Perfect Saturday morning: Up early. Toast. Tea. Hike. Ax.

Winter seems to have kind of come back this morning, but I rather liked it. The brisk air was the perfect temperature while I worked up a sweat hacking at a fallen ash, Leto singing his displeasure nearby. Pushing the log out of the way, the chilly breeze was refreshing.

The leaves have frozen on the ground, so as we made our typical morning rounds they produced a pleasant crunch beneath the feet.

Being "spring," I have a growing list of things to do, some done, some not. Carpenter ants have been making appearances in the cabin, so I laid out ant bait. Now dead carpenter ants are making appearances around the cabin. Debris collecting in the gutters from winter melts was cleared out this morning. Tools need sharpening.

Leto got giardia this week from his nasty habit of drinking out of muddy puddles in the driveway. This meant some unexpected items on the to-do list.

Two mornings ago, we saw a coyote precariously slipping around out on the ice, off to do who-knows-what.

The world just seems to be waking up. Myself included.