It was gray, cold and sleety here today, but I braved the weather and was rewarded with the sight of crocuses. It's nice when nature does things right on cue. What could be a better hint of spring than a crocus on Imbolc? Okay, they hadn't actually bloomed yet, but the shoots were unmistakable, tucked under a big beech tree. So, as far as I'm concerned, winter's on its way out, no matter what the groundhog says tomorrow.
It's amazing to see how much the atmosphere of the park has changed since the dry, desolate days last summer. The streams that didn't flow for weeks are about to top their banks. The recent warm spell has tender grass coming up, so the deer are eating well. It's a pleasure to see them content, because they were looking pretty ragged at the end of December. This mild winter has been kind to them after the summer drought. The birds appear to be having a tough time, though. They empty my feeders even faster than usual, in spite of the fact that their numbers overall seem to be down.
The rabbit that hopped across my path looked healthy enough, if not exactly hasenfeffer material. He was busy looking for his own share of sweet greens, and it occurred to me that pretty soon I need to do that, too. Nothing's better in the spring than a salad with sorrel or young dandelion greens gathered from the yard. I just need to find a fat rabbit to go with it.
Photo from Wikipedia
2 comments:
You're going to eat Thumper?! :-D
The last house I lived in had crocuses just that color that came up every February 4 like clockwork.
Not Thumper--just his cousin.
We've got some white and yellow crocuses here, but our little microclimate is harsh--everything blooms late at our house, so I don't expect to see them for a while.
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