A Walk in the Springtime

I went for a walk down by the stream today, right behind the house. It was the quintessential spring day: sunny, balmy, and pleasant. The snow here in the valley is almost all melted now, except for the shady spots. The mountain slopes have snow on them yet, but it is getting visibly thin. Early this winter we had intense cold, but little snow. And we finished the winter with unusually warm sunny days, and still little snow. We already look like April, when it is only the middle of March.

I found some fresh new crinkly primrose leaves just beginning to poke up above the old dead leaves out on our “Primrose Path.” My mother-in-law planted them many years ago. The catkins on the shrubbery right by the stream were beginning to enlarge and extend and show bright yellow green in between the dark spots. I hit one with my hand and a cloud of yellow pollen drifted away on the breeze.

I sat for a while and just watched the water ripple by. A chickadee came up behind me so close that I thought he was going to land on me. I heard his wings fluttering right behind my head and turned to look at him. He took his time looking me over, too, giving a quiet little “cheep” from time to time. I also heard a nuthatch, but I didn’t see him.

The wildlife has been out and about early, too. In the past couple of weeks we have seen a fox, a deer, a skunk, a squirrel, a pair of mourning doves, and a turkey vulture. The chipmunks have not roused themselves out of their burrows yet. I don’t know how many more tick-less days we will have, but I am going to enjoy it while it lasts.

I am thinking about gardening, and putting some lettuce in my cold frame….