Signs of Spring # 5 - The Birds!

It's a small thing, but it means so much, when I notice one day in late February that I hear a bird singing outside in the snow. It occurs to me that I haven't heard a bird singing since some time around Thanksgiving. The small singing bird, hidden high up in a nearby tree, gives me hope and really lifts my spirits. The birds themselves seem to be glad to have made it through another winter, and so am I. Welcome spring!

Signs of Spring # 4 - The Poo Harvest

As the weather warms, the snow in the back yard begins to melt, revealing The Pooping Fields. Yes, there's poop all over the yard, and poop all over the poop. It's been impossible to clean up after the dogs since early January, so the crop is ripe.

The best time to harvest the poop is after the snow has melted but the temperature is still below freezing, such as early on a clear morning. The ground is frozen, and so is the poops. Covering your hand with a Baggie (TM) you can pick up the poop and drop it into your 'leven foot sack. If you have foolishly waited until the the poop softened, you may want to cover your shoes with bread bags before you begin, and fasten them there with rubber bands, (Pat. Pending). It's all in a day's work, but once you're finished, your back yard is ready for April showers and the eventual greening of the lawn. Happy spring!

Signs of Spring # 3 - Skunk Cabbage

OK, you're wondering what the hell that's supposed to be. It's skunk cabbage, the first spring wildflower in this part of the country. You have to look around the edges of creeks, ditches, rivers and ponds, but skunk cabbage starts coming through the snow in February and sometimes earlier. What you're seeing in the photo is just the flower. But here's what's interesting: skunk cabbage generates its own heat. It chemically produces enough heat to melt the snow all around it, allowing the small flies and bugs that pollinate it to reach it.

By the time traditional spring wildflowers start blooming, skunk cabbage has become a clump of giant green leaves. But the flower is a welcome sight when snow covers everything else.

Signs of Spring # 2 - Maple Syrup Buckets

Here's another sign of spring from northeast Ohio - buckets hanging on maple trees to collect syrup. Well, actually sap at this point, since it hasn't been cooked down yet. As we inch closer to spring, the sap begins to rise in local maple trees. The sap helps build the flower buds that will later produce "whirlybirds" on the maples, as well as maple leaves. And don't worry, draining off a little sap doesn't hurt the trees at all.

As I travel Route 43 going to and from work every day, I'm now seeing many trees with these buckets attached. In fact there's one area I pass through that's called Sugar Bush Knolls, named after a large stand of maples used for "sugaring". Up in Geauga County, just north of us, maple syrup production is a big deal. Burton, Ohio has a "sugar shack" right on the town square where raw maple sap gets boiled down to syrup and maple sugar candies.

So when we start seeing these buckets around, even if there's still snow on the ground, we know spring is on the way.

Signs of Spring # 1 - Skunk

Here in the north we're pretty familiar with traditional signs of spring: seeing robins again, crocus starting to poke up about an inch, etc. This year I thought I'd log some signs of spring that actually precede those listed. Maybe more accurately, "harbingers of spring".

You may not think of skunks when you think spring, but skunks are among the first mammals to come out of hibernation. You don't usually see them, you smell them. It will be a week or so after Valentine's Day, around bed time, when that distinctive skunk smell starts creeping into your house. Some local skunk will be out there trying to wake up, looking for food or a mate, but meeting a neighbor's cat instead. Sometimes you'll smell a skunk on your way to work or school in the morning - most often this is skunk road kill.

So hold your nose and groan if you must, but when you smell a skunk in February, it's a sure sign that winter is winding down.