BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: black walnut
Date: 28 Mar 08 - 06:17 PM

Yea spring! I'm so glad you started this thread, Kat. I'm sorry that I've been whining so much about our long, long winter. I went out for a walk this afternoon and the snowbanks are indeed receding. There are bits of tulip, daffodil and crocus showing tips of their varied foliage, and robins are finding bare earth to go looking for worms. I didn't even need to wear boots today!

~b.w.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Mar 08 - 02:09 PM

You might be surprised. I've seen crocuses in the snow before. They're tough little flowers.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: gnu
Date: 28 Mar 08 - 01:28 PM

I have discovered what the ???'s in Mum's flower bed are. Crocuses. The flowers have formed on several and they are ready to bloom anytime. But, I expect they will wait at least until after the snow which is just getting under way.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemispher
From: Alice
Date: 28 Mar 08 - 12:18 PM

12 Robins in the backyard trees yesterday morning. The ground is frozen and covered with snow. I hope they find enough to eat.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemispher
From: Metchosin
Date: 28 Mar 08 - 11:58 AM

Here's an early sign of spring here. I'm sure it will clear up in about an hour and the sun will be shining again. Its been doing this off and on all week.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemispher
From: curmudgeon
Date: 28 Mar 08 - 11:25 AM

On Wednesday, I was starting to believe in Spring. Low 50s, sun, got a lot of wood losed from the ice. Now its snowing, again; all the loose firewood is buried. We've all but given up on trying to be warm - Tom

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemispher
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 28 Mar 08 - 11:11 AM

6 inches of snow and counting! My man had to go get more wood from Treehugger Farms- we'd just unloaded a huge pile of green cordwood but that won't keep us warm today, so he's off to get a Jeepload of kiln fired stuff. Might as well throw dollar bills into the stove...

but I saw robins in the village yesterday!

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: gnu
Date: 28 Mar 08 - 10:43 AM

You can't quit now!

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Becca72
Date: 28 Mar 08 - 10:16 AM

It was 50° yesterday...today it's friggin' snowing. I quit.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: black walnut
Date: 28 Mar 08 - 09:49 AM

I spied one squished white crocus near the front sidewalk. There's too much snow to know where else to put our garbage and recyling cans.
The cedar waxwings are gone now. They and the robins stripped the tree across the street totally bare in about 3 days.
Where are the red-winged blackbirds? Have they crossed the border yet?

~b.w.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: GUEST,Jim Martin
Date: 28 Mar 08 - 09:23 AM

"Beer bottles and cans popping up ......"

Sounds just like Ireland (apart from the snow/ice)!

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: gnu
Date: 27 Mar 08 - 02:25 PM

It's +1C and sunny!

The ice crust on the snow is about 150mm thick, so it's easy to walk on the 1 - 2m of snow. The maple slurpup camps are bustling. The streets are chock full of potholes and ruts. Pedestrians are covered with muddy water from being splashed. Kids are slipping off the 2 - 3m "cliffs" that the big snowblowers made when making room for more snow and falling on the ice, breaking and fracturing this and that. Beer bottles and cans are poking up through the snow in the country road ditches like spring flowers. Vehicle floormats and carpets are thawing out and giving off that aroma of a winter's worth of crud and crap.... YES! spring is in the air!

(Valid only from noon to dusk. Not available in all locations. Some restrictions may apply. Check local weather conditions.)

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: black walnut
Date: 27 Mar 08 - 12:11 PM

I can really tell it's spring when I don't like my winter clothes anymore. If only I didn't have to still wear them....

~b.w.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Mar 08 - 12:28 AM

We have year-round vultures and hawks down here in Texas. There are turkeys in the woods near the house, but they're cagey, we don't see them very often. The come a little way out of the woods to feed then head back. Amazing how such big birds can hide so well.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemispher
From: Escapee
Date: 26 Mar 08 - 12:13 AM

I saw three turkey vultures today. Not as cute as robins, but we have a few robins around all winter in northern Ohio. Vultures are real spring birds. The goldfinches are getting brighter every day.
Hang on, everybody! We can do this. Just a few more weeks. The walleyes are in the river, can the white bass be far behind?
SKP

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Janie
Date: 25 Mar 08 - 11:07 PM

Tweren't the cold what did the pulmonaria in, Bobert. Twas the dreadful drought. I'm taking inventory this spring. Wasn't sure late summer and early fall last year as to what just went dormant early and what croaked.

Mowed the grass (or rather, the weeds and wildflowers) for the first time yesterday. Should have been done at least 10 days earlier, and it was quite a job. The lumbar spine hasn't forgiven me yet. The yard was full of purple deadnettle, common speedwell, chickweed, and the like. Now it looks bare and brownish again.

There are places in my yard that are usually thickly blanketed with white and purple violets this time of year. The drought has been so deep that it has really stunted them and their spread also.

The holly trees are blooming now and the buzz of honey bees working their sweet-scented blossoms fills the air as thickly as the floral aroma on mild days. Isn't it great that tiny, insignificant flowers often have the headiest smell?

I've only seen Cedar Waxwings once in my life. A large flock came through one early spring morning, a number of years ago, stormed a large Eastern Red Cedar, stripping it of it's blue berries in what seemed like no time at all, then headed on north. I was quite taken with them and have watched hopefully but in vain for them every spring since.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemispher
From: maeve
Date: 25 Mar 08 - 10:37 PM

The snow is still 2-5' deep in most places in our part of Maine. However, a southerly-facing bed has lost the last of its snow so I cleared away the road debris and last year's stalks today. Daffodils have emerged, Honesty seedlings have survived, and the tips of daylily leaves are pale green against the dark earth around them.

Chickadees sing their spring song and mourning doves are calling back and forth. Sweet maple sap drip drip drips into our collecting jugs.

Spring!

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: black walnut
Date: 25 Mar 08 - 09:57 PM

I saw a flock of cedar waxwings this morning too - eating last year's fruit off the neighbour's tree. Beautiful!

~b.w.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: gnu
Date: 25 Mar 08 - 02:05 PM

Obviously, that particular crow was a shop steward and there was a grievance.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Bee
Date: 25 Mar 08 - 11:41 AM

Cool, gnu! Crows have pretty intricate lives, and it's always a little spooky to watch their behaviour in huge flocks. I once witnessed what I swear was a 'council meeting', behind some sand dunes. Big flock of crows on the ground, about a hundred. 100 feet away, about twenty crows. All the crows were 'talking'. Every five minutes or so, one crow would fly to the larger group, confer, then fly back to the small group. Always wondered what they were 'talking' about.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Mar 08 - 11:33 AM

A busy little flock of cedar wax wings visited my back yard this morning, coming and going in the old hackberry, dressing it up very nicely for a few minutes.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Bobert
Date: 25 Mar 08 - 09:03 AM

Janie,

Glad the Linten Rose is doing well for you... We also have two crimson Linten Roses and they are just starting to make babies so we'll have some of them available this year...

Also, palmonaria??? Can't see how you could loose them unless a vole ate the roots... They are very hardy...

We went away for Easter and returned late yesterday to snow... Just flurries but it's 27 degrees out there now... It is supposed to get up to 54 today with 60's tomorrow so I think that spring has sprung and more and more stuff will be up every week...

Mushroom hunting season is less than a month away... Yumm...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: GUEST,Jim Martin
Date: 25 Mar 08 - 08:45 AM

Heard my first Skylark of the year just outside the house in a field whistling his little heart out with his mate following, but he didn't climb very high in the sky as they do later on.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: gnu
Date: 25 Mar 08 - 06:36 AM

Now, there are only two. Probably the two I have been feeding and videoing all winter.

It's like they met up here. A few minutes of silence, then a thunder of caws, then a bunch would take off to the north, then a bunch to the south... then silence... then... fascinating.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: gnu
Date: 25 Mar 08 - 06:28 AM

Got up about 4AM. Just as the dawn began, so did a noise. It quickly got louder. I looked up from my desk and saw movement in the pines against the sky. I peered out the window... there were about a hundred crows in my maple in the middle of the yard... well over a hundred in the 4 pines... well over two hundred on the apartment building roof behind the pines. I didn't see them all at first. It was only as dawn light came on that I realized how many there were. Got most of it on video, too.

Definite a sign... a good sign.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: black walnut
Date: 24 Mar 08 - 09:22 PM

A quick answer to the Guest above then back to the topic of spring.
Nope..."black walnut" is because my first Celtic harp and my fretted dulcimer are both made from black walnut.

Back to the topic. Spring? We had snow last night and we're in for more tomorrow.

Sigh....

~b.w.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Bee
Date: 23 Mar 08 - 02:08 PM

Nasty highways? Say it ain't so! Husband just left for work in NB... will be calling me to tell me he got there in 4...3...2...

But he's a careful driver with studded winter tires. ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: gnu
Date: 23 Mar 08 - 02:01 PM

Yeees, Bee! It was a beautiful morn here. Only -11 at noon. But, the wind made it -22 windchill. And the ground drift made the highways kinda nasty.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Bee
Date: 23 Mar 08 - 01:37 PM

Last post was me. Husband trashed alla cookies without tellin' me.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Mar 08 - 11:32 AM

Cold as it is, the lake remains open, there really are pussywillows, and the snow is largely gone here. I remain chilled but optimistic. (but if that north wind would just die!)

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemispher
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 23 Mar 08 - 04:02 AM

Early signs of feckin winter more like, and as someone else said, I'm just going outside now, I may be gone sometime, I've got to scrape the global warming off my windscreen.

eric

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: gnu
Date: 22 Mar 08 - 12:38 PM

Yeees, sIx! I gotta go back out but I am puttin on me old shin pads! And, I am gonna use the snowblower so I have at least something to hang onto.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemispher
From: number 6
Date: 22 Mar 08 - 12:24 PM

Early signs of spring ??!!?? HuH .... it's just down right miserable here in SJ. That effen icy wind blowing off of the Bay of Fundy is gonna kill me.

gnu ... we gotta watch our old bones eh .... I slipped on the ice first thing yesterday when I took the hounds out for their morning walk.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: gnu
Date: 22 Mar 08 - 12:09 PM

I slipped on the 150mm thick ice while shovelling a few minutes ago so I came inside to console myself and warm up. It's snowing again!

And, I just looked at the weather forecast to see what the rest of the day may bring and noticed it says snow on Wednesday.

At least the tulips and the ??? are covered with snow. Thanks Becca.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Donuel
Date: 22 Mar 08 - 09:05 AM

No ther lilies were indoors but its is the theme now with Easter.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Janie
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 09:16 PM

Donuel - thanks for the pix. Those lilies - those aren't in bloom now, are they?

The earliest Dutch Iris are blooming now. In fact, this is the first time since I planted this particular variety that they haven't got nailed by frost before the blooms opened. More tulips blooming. We didn't have enough cold this winter for the tulips to do very well. I am surprised that a number of small, species tulips do not appear to have survived. They are natives of Turkey and the mountains of the mideast, and were planted 3 years ago. Earliest daffs are pretty shrivelled. Early daffs fading. Mid season daffs at their prime. Late season, such as my personal faves - thalia just putting one their show, and the narcissis are going strong. Redbuds have popped out like magic in the last week. Two columbines - look like crosses between the native columbine and some cultivars I've had over the years, are in full bloom - way early. No other columbines appeared to have survived the drought or to have self-sowed. Have lost all but one bleeding heart to drought. I think I lost most of my hydrangeas too, except for a stand of native Hydrangea arborescens. They are the only ones I'm seeing any bud swell on. Many dead azaleas (again, old shrubs) and those that are alive are obviously in bad shape.

Hellebores doing well - and the white linton rose I obtained from Beaubear 4 years ago has really taken off this year. I love the creamy white of the bloom, Bobert. Lost all but one pulmunaria. It is scrawny, but it is blooming. Lost all of my ferns (had just started the fern garden two years ago so they weren't well established.) It looks like a few of a thick stand of Japanese Anemones may have survived. I'm surprised and pleased to see any at all made it. 5 boxwoods at least 70 years old are dead. I had a number of different cultivars of echinecea,including some of the new orange and sherbet cultivars that won't cost nearly as much in a few years. Usually they have nice rosettes by now. Thought I had lost most of them, even the well-established clumps of native and drought tolerant purpurea, but it appears that many have survived - barely. Isolated, tiny leaves popping up. Rose campion doing well. Poppies everywhere. They need thinned badly, but I am going to be moving so am not thinning so I can get seeds of as many different colors as possible to take with me. Don't matter if this year's crop has small flowers, so long as I get the seeds.

The catbirds are back.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: gnu
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 08:17 PM

Six? Just six? Fire that little sucker up!

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: the lemonade lady
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 07:52 PM

Groundhog Day

Every year the residents of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania hold a special celebration on Groundhog Day, which is, again, 2 February. On that day, if the resident groundhog Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his hole on Gobblers Knob and sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Donuel
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 04:21 PM

Here is our 1st full day of Spring in the park today

http://usera.imagecave.com/donuel/don/spring1.jpg

http://usera.imagecave.com/donuel/don/spring2.jpg

http://usera.imagecave.com/donuel/don/spring4.jpg

http://usera.imagecave.com/donuel/don/spring5.jpg


http://usera.imagecave.com/donuel/don/spring6.jpg

http://usera.imagecave.com/donuel/don/spring7.jpg


http://usera.imagecave.com/donuel/don/spring8.jpg


http://usera.imagecave.com/donuel/don/spring9.jpg

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Bobert
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 09:08 AM

Let's see...

Crokuses in bloom, bleeding hearts pokin' up, palmaneria's in bloom, Linten rose in bloom, Camellias bloomed and went, Virginia Blue Bell pokin' up, early diciduous azalea (pink) in bloom, willows leafing out, grass getting greener...

Robins arrived last week... Junkos still hangin' round...

That's 'bout it fir now...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemispher
From: maeve
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 08:58 AM

Becca, bad!

We are being thrifty and planning ahead and getting in the wood before the sap flows and...

Funny wummin!

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Becca72
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 08:44 AM

Maeve,
My mother always said that would happen if you sit on the cold ground too long! :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemispher
From: maeve
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 08:08 AM

Of course it's spring. The woodpiles in our yard are growing rapidly.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: gnu
Date: 21 Mar 08 - 07:11 AM

Bee... "Could be worse."

Ya just had ta say that, didn't ya!

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: black walnut
Date: 20 Mar 08 - 05:27 PM

ROBINS, ROBINS, ROBINS!!!!
REAL ROBINS!!!
YEAH!!! ROBINS!!!

~b.w.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Bee
Date: 20 Mar 08 - 03:22 PM

Yup, gnu, it's friggin' miserable out.

Could be worse. Was talking last night to a fellow who just got in yesterday from offshore, out by Sable Island. They had hurricane force winds out there the other day. From the sounds of it, he still has a couple pairs of pants need washing.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: gnu
Date: 20 Mar 08 - 02:03 PM

In southeastern New Brunswick, it could go either way, but, the May Moon is on the 20th (June is the 18th), so, given what we have seen so far, my guess (at 50.01%) is that we will have no frost after May 30. Of course, if you do the arithmetic, there is a 49.99% chance that we will have frost as late as about June 21st.

If you wish to consult a more informed source, contact Mother Nature.

Oh, BTW, on this first day of spring, there is about 10mm of ice on my truck.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Becca72
Date: 20 Mar 08 - 11:21 AM

Mid June to late September it's just about perfect here in Maine, Janie.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemisphere
From: Bee
Date: 19 Mar 08 - 11:50 PM

Charley's being an Eeeyore. Maine ain't too different from Nova Scotia and NB, and while June can be cold, by the middle of it every native plant that can hold a flower is sproinging them out as fast as it can. We don't have a Spring, we have an Explosion.

Subject: RE: BS: Early Signs of Spring - northern hemispher
From: Charley Noble
Date: 19 Mar 08 - 10:41 PM

Janie-

It should be safe to come to Maine by July.

Charley Noble