I spied the first spring beauty of the year on Feb. 20, the same week a Northern flicker started drumming on our metal chimney, the week of budburst for our red maple sapling and our young red mulberries.
The bluebirds often start house-hunting much earlier than they intend to nest, but the first flicker concert at dawn and the first spring beauty opening in the afternoon sun — they’re for real.
Soon the crows will be stalking through the wild parts of the yard after a rain, collecting long, damp stalks of grass to line their nests with.
This year spring beauties came a little late compared to last year (Feb. 16), but still very early compared to the year before that (March 20).
Spring is here!
Persons:
skinnier