After the long month of February, March has proven to be a month of welcome change. It started out with lots of snow leftover from the month before. It was the end of February before we could shovel our steps out. The snow was just too deep there. This picture was taken on March 1, mainly so I could document the progress as we moved through the month.
And we have made progress! We have had wonderful weather lately. We had at least a week of sunshine and some days it actually warmed up in the mid 60's. It felt like summer!
It started out with several crisp days of sunshine. One day when the ground was still covered with snow, the sun was out but it was still in the low 30's. These two Mourning doves gave me a chuckle. They huddled together on the railing of our deck enjoying the sunshine.
Maggie agreed and stretched out in front of the sliding glass doors to soak up all the sun she could. I'm glad to see evidence that all God's children love the sun, not just me!
We walked almost every day. After a week of moderate temperatures (in the 40's) it began to really warm up. The last couple of days I actually walked in a t-shirt! It felt wonderful. Each day more snow melted away.
As the last of the snow melted off, the true sign of spring appeared! Robins! This little fellow hopped all around looking for a fresh meal...no seeds from the feeder for him! By the afternoon several of his friends had joined him and I watched as they scoured the grass for food.
The yard looked more and more clear, but as I walked around the grassy areas, I discovered the ground was really a saturated sponge. Some spots that are part of the water runoff route were underwater of course, but the areas that looked dry, bubbled up under my feet as I walked across them.
Finally the snow is gone and with Spring coming the yard is starting to call my name. The snow was pretty heavy on our bushes and I'm watching to see the how long it takes for the branches of some of them to bounce back. I'm checking to see what bulbs are coming up and occasionally I find a surprise; like the huge chrysanthemum that never got cut back last fall. The snow laid it flat but I can already see the new leaves growing on the stems at ground level.
Most exciting of all was to see our first crocuses! The tiny white blooms are a true delight in March! At the time, half the yard was still under a good blanket of snow, but where it had melted, they were blooming.
Ah Spring! I'm so happy to see you!
What's that old saying - - "March comes in like a lion - goes out like a lamb"? You are chronicling this wonderfully in your photos -- heavy snow - to a pretty, delicate crocus! But -- beware! The month is not over yet. There have been known to be the random, crazed March blizzard. Do not get TOO comfy *gg* But -- enjoy the changeover to spring. It really is coming!
ReplyDelete(BTW - Love the pic of the hunkered down mourning doves!)
You are so right. We are having a beautiful weekend. I really wanted to pressure wash the deck this weekend so I could get it stained next week. Problem is they are calling for rain, possible flurries, on Monday and it will be too cold to do it the rest of the week. The real reason why I want to get the deck done though, is that we have a couple of robins nests in the framework, and I want to get the pressure washing done before the robins move in and lay their eggs. Once they've moved in I refuse to do it until they leave. Oh well...patience.
ReplyDeleteThey say don't plant flowers until Mother's day. I'm ready NOW!!! We'd have them in by Easter in Florida:)
When do you expect the Robins to move into the nests and lay eggs? Mid April? Hope you can get pictures of them when they do!
ReplyDeleteThey move in sometime around then. I remember last summer we had a similar problem. I wouldn't pressure wash the deck with them in the nest. By the time I got back from visiting Jenny and Janice it was too late. So it never got done.
ReplyDelete