MORE MID-MARCH MUSINGS

March 17:

How unusual to seek the shade on a St. Patrick’s Day because the fore-noon sun is too warm. Morning fog hugged the valley until mid- , then slowly lifted and weakened, passing my hillside seat by 10 A.M. Now deep blue is the sky and quiet are the raucous crows. Peace penetrates, stillness prevails, as not a needle wavers nor does a single bird sing. A few chickadees, snow birds and even some nuthatches and blue-gray gnatcatchers do visit the suet nearby.

Now near noon, solar strength begins to agitate the atmosphere as gently sway the needled pines and still begins to move. In sunlit woods a tinge of green begins to appear in newly expanding leaf buds of honeysuckle and multi-flora rose.
These invaders have overtaken many woods and woodland edges becoming the dominate understory shrubs. Their success stems from the fact that their seeds are spread by bird poop and they are not eaten by Bambi and his ilk!

Now, about twenty minutes later, the air is once again very still. Perhaps a stasis between the uphill moving warmer air and the cooler downhill flowing woodland air has been temporally reached. In the summer this is very dramatic, as the sun
begins to set, cool air from the woods displaces the warmth of the day with its downhill flow.

March 18:
This morning the air is a bit more unstable as gentle breezes agitate pine needles and twigs, but the sky is cloudless blue again and warm the air remains. Sitting in the sun, listening to the brook babble from the sitting rock at “Sitabove Falls”
where early spring is again perfect. The brook flow is perfect and the sun sparkles in the splashing flow. Last year the brook was log jammed and cluttered with detritus from the extreme weather episodes of the previous few years.

The basin at the base of the falls is open again as in years past, its circular shape clear, speculation on its formation and as to why it does not fill with larger rocks that have clearly passed through the stream bed, as always, intrigues. Idle thoughts for idle times and warm March mornings are made for those.

Thinly and very so slowly the blue is fading from the north-northwest sky as tomorrow’s rainy weather begins to approach, 2’oclock in the afternoon. It seems odd looking forward to a rainy ay in March. Last year, even as May was winding down, in many places the ground was saturated and even too wet to even walk on.

MID- MARCH MUSINGS

March 15: The sky is not as blue as yesterday, nor is the breeze as chilled. It is not coming from the north. With today’s warmth comes humidity and clarity suffers. Though still blue the sky has not the infinite depth that sends poetic fantasies into the yonder. Shadows are softer, for now, the spring will settle into a brief quiet before life begins its frenetic rush, as spring’s momentum builds with each passing day. Following warm breezes will the first warm rains arrive and all the magic, the joy, the beauty that is renewal after winter’s long, frozen silence begins.

March 14: sunny, but chilly, last night in upper 30’s, today “only” mid 50’s

This morning the sun was bright, the sky so blue and all is good. The white pines backlit in the morning sun glisten, shimmer as dew-bedecked, white against ever greening needles. At certain times and light the white in white pine is well deserved. At other periods the needles seem as black more than green. Of late the needles responding to our warm March are sweet spring green, greening with the grass of lawn. Needles seem more “open” now, not pressed against their twigs as in colder times and so the shadows cast upon the lawn and in the woods are denser.

The crows cawed quite a stir this morning as the alarm was sent out that a hawk was near. Against the blue, black crows rule and off was sent the hawk, out-numbered and out cawed. Noise and numbers won the day, but soon the crows will get their comeuppance as more migrant birds arrive.

Once, years ago I remember seeing, late in the spring, a crow harassing a hawk while being harassed by a kingbird, who in turn was being harassed by a smaller bird. Life can be unpleasant in the peaceable kingdom when survival is at stake.

FEBRUARY & MARCH MUSINGS

February-2012

Feb. 4, 2012

Last week started the coldest average temperature of winter, with 31F.as the high and 12F.as low, the low points of winter. These averages will hold about two weeks
before the averages begin to rise, rise ever so slowly with the lengthening
days. Of course this year has been so mild the worse is yet to be.

Slowly we drift towards spring, each night a little
shorter, each day a little longer. Day by day noon shadows shorten as higher in
the sky daily our sun travels. Although the pace is slow, inevitably we know,
winter will surely go, not soon enough although.

Feb.7, Ave.: hi 32, low 13

Feb. 16: Ave.: hi 33, low 14

Feb. 19: Ave.: hi 34, low 14

March-2012

Start of month: Ave.: hi 38, low 18

Winter that wasn’t slowly gives in to spring. Today it is above 60 with pleasant breeze and full sun.

Went to the brook today, ice still along the water course and is very thin. I should have been earlier to catch some better light but I wasn’t sure what of interest I would
find. The thin ice and frozen rills were interesting. The air trapped between
the water and the ice were mesmerizing, like the water’s shadow on the stream
bed in the fall, but in reverse. Slowly slipping stream bubbles, the trapped
air drifts with the current, silent.

Still so very still the afternoon sun, warm the air warmer still the sun as spring
delights in winter’s passing. Winter was easy and may not be totally done, but
the winter’s months are now gone. Days of equal length will soon give way to
longer spring days as again northward the sun the equator crosses.
Now the sun is becoming blocked by a thickening veil of clouds drifting in from the west, the air begins to stir; the best of today is done. Tonight will usher in warm rain, an all-day rain tomorrow that will change to snow as another front passes. Moods, like the weather, are especially dependent upon frontal passages at this time of the
year, for the changes are dramatic. Sometimes I think it dangerous to be aware,
for powerless we are to affect the fronts, but powerful are they to affect us.

And now, ten minutes later the sun is bright, but the sky is not blue, the air is still,
not a pine needle’s breath disturbs the quiet. A mourning dove alights, the
flies off, but only goes a few branches away. Another alights nearby, then both
away. They are the first I’ve seen this spring. A couple of days ago a group of
robins were busying the season, squabbling in the bushes and small trees. Now
they are not around, but we’ve had a few bitter cold nights, one even in the
low teens, since then and maybe they were unable to survive. ????

The pair of mourning doves just landed on my lawn swing having apparently circled around in the woods checking out the changes in the neighborhood. I’m sure they’ve been here before, they seem to be quite comfortable here!! I was just about to
go for a swing too. Oh well they’ll be off soon!