Update

Spring is busting out all over in so many ways that it is hard to keep up with it. So I thought that I would give you an update today on what is happening here. Our weather has been splendid with four straight days of sun and a temperature of 19°c expected today. It has been hard to stay indoors and blog. The crocuses are now blooming everywhere. Daffodils, tulips and tiger lilies are just beginning to poke their heads out of the ground.

The birds have noticed the change of seasons. Yesterday there was a flock of maybe fifty cheerful little redpolls in my backyard. They are massing for the journey north to their summering grounds. You can read more about the redpolls in my previous post here. The purple finches and goldfinches are spending less time at the bird feeders. Soon the goldfinches will molt, with the males putting on their bright yellow coats for the summer.

There are flocks of grackles about with their noisy, squeaky clothesline pulley voices calling from all directions. The flocks of robins are beginning to break up with individual males staking out their territories by filling the air with their song. The snow has pretty much all melted and the robins spend time scouring the lawns for big, juicy worms.

Everywhere you can see nest building activity. There are quite a few crows in my neighbourhood and there are at least two nests being built within sight of my backyard. I’ve seen pigeons, mourning doves and starlings all gathering nesting material and then flying off on their urgent mission. The woodpeckers have begun drumming on the trees again.

The ice is lifting from the ponds and marshes and there are waterfowl everywhere. The Canada geese and the ducks are looking for just the right place to situate their nest and raise the first broods of the year. There is a splendid marsh within walking distance where hundreds of pairs of waterfowl will make their home for the season.

Since we had a lot of snow this past winter the spring runoff has swollen the brooks and streams to their limits. Soon some of us will hike out to our favourite streamside places and pick fiddleheads to have with a meal of fresh salmon and new potatoes. This is the quintessential springtime New Brunswick meal.

Indoors us gardeners are busy filling every bright nook and cranny with peat pots seeded with our chosen hopes for the coming gardening season. I have windflowers and shamrocks coming up at the moment. My Hoya plant is in full bloom and at night the sweet scent fills the entire house with its perfume. Outdoors the buds on the trees are just beginning to swell and soon we will have that first blush of spring …