Spring

It may seem odd to be calling it spring when nothing is blooming or growing, and there is snow on the ground, but I consider spring to start when the snow starts melting. By the time things start blooming and growing, spring is almost over in Island Park.

We are down below three feet of snow, and it has been very warm all month. The sandhill cranes have returned. I heard their calls in the night last week. We also had our first thunderstorm two nights ago. Terrifying booms had the house dogs cowering and looking for hiding spots. It also poured down rain for a while. Last night it snowed, and the wind chills hit minus 7F today.

I am eagerly watching for signs of the trees and shrubs I planted last year. Last week, the tips of three maples made an appearance above the snow, and this week a lilac is poking through. It will still be two months before I see them leafing out.

Another sign of spring is an increase in highway traffic and a decrease in snowmobile traffic. I no longer hear the buzz-saw sound of snowmobiles late into the evening, but I wake up to the noise of cars and trucks passing steadily by on the road.

This year I am ready and eager for spring. I have had enough of being out in the cold and the wind for countless hours, and I look forward to planting more trees and watching old friends return for the summer months.