Spring: Don't Miss It

It is hard to believe but nearly 2 weeks of spring have already gone by. Even though the calendar and weather announcers are there to tell us that spring has arrived, if we had been paying attention, we would have known already.

If you have a minute this year, in addition to going out in the yard to admire the bulbs breaking the ground, find a wild place.

Go find your nearest river, lake, or marsh. Take a jar; examine the water. If you're lucky you will discover a wide variety of critters in that tiny jar of water. The greater the variety, the cleaner, better the quality of the water.

Listen to those spring peepers calling to each other. As dusk falls, they just might begin their mating migrations. They'll be munching on some of those critters that are in your jar of water, as those critters change into flying adults. 

Find a heron eating its fill of those frogs. Or discover where the muskrat nibbles its weeds; where the ground hog finally, really, peeks out of its hole.

Spend a whole day exploring the world. Watch a robin couple build their nest. Listen to a cardinal sing his cheery song to his favorite girl. Hear the birds that don't frequent your back yard feeders; the swamp sparrow or meadow lark.

Walk and listen and look at the detail. Spring comes in subtle ways. It's here. Don't miss it.