Spring is trying, trying, trying

In Wisconsin, spring is on its way. But you have to pay attention.

About a month ago, the birds started kicking up a cacophony. Then we got slammed with snow...and rain...and more snow. Days went from sunny to grey. The birds quieted. During February, our shortest month, winter got LONG.

But my friend saw a crane last week. Now THAT is a sign of spring.

 

Usually by March 1, days are filled with the trill of redwing blackbirds. But here it is March 8 and I haven't heard a one of 'em. I'll have to listen harder.

The land is still covered with white, but the edges of the white are melting.

Spring is coming. One day soon, the earth will shrug off her white blanket like a lady flinging off her cape after an evening at the opera.

Then the miniscule spring peepers will shake off their winter sleep and seek mates. Their salacious mating chorus will fill our nights  with a harmony of sheer abandon: my favorite sound. I'll fling open my windows to their symphony and to the air carrying the scent of living earth.

Only a Northerner knows the ecstasy of spring.


a spring peeper - about the size of your thumb nail