That’s the way this spring has been so far, hasn’t it? The bloom schedule seems to be pretty normal this year though, which is kind of nice. I for one have been a little thankful for the cool spells because I feel that it helps prolong the bloom time for some of our spring flowers.

I really love this point in spring. Everything is flush with that new light green color and it can look so vibrant! Another thing that I love about this time of year are the pink crab apple trees that bloom in folk’s yards. We have one here just outside the Nature Center that grows in between a couple of redbud trees. They often bloom at the same time (like this year) and the effect is spectacular. Check it out!

Other spring surprises await the keen observer. This one is hard to find even if you know where and what to look for! Pennywort is in the Gentian family. It is very small, but very pretty. What do you think?

We have 10 different species of violets that bloom in the spring and one of the easiest to identify is the long-spur violet. Can you guess why it’s called that? The spur on this flower is so long that you can see it without bending over. It even shows up in this picture. You can see this violet at the “junction” of the Shelter Trail. This is the center of the figure eight shape that the trail makes.

A new yellow flower has just come into bloom. This is a buttercup. Our lists have it as swamp buttercup, but these things can be tricky. I took a photo of this flower because of how shiny it looked. I was very pleased that it showed up so well in the picture. This really is how my eye saw it. These guys grow in the Deer Meadow and by Bridge 7.

So here is your complete list of new flowers in bloom:

Redbud
Dogwood
Forget-me-not
Pennywort
Early Saxifrage
Swamp Buttercup
Crabapple – pink and white
Long-spur Violet
Three-lobed Violet
Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Wild Ginger
Bugle
Spring Cress
Forget-me-not

Hope to see you out here soon, the trails are waiting!

Check out the new Macro Photography Workshop program on the Programs Page! It’s not until August, but you may want to go ahead a register. We can only take a limited number of people so sign up soon.

Although we missed out on clear skies today, the sun could still be felt. Especially by our cold-blooded friends. Turtles galore, water snakes, and tons of frogs were basking on logs, the shore and partly in the water today. Soaking up the sun’s warmth is a sure sign of spring.

Birds continue to make their way north. Some are just passing through like the Solitary Sandpiper we saw today, and some are arrive here to nest. Just this morning I heard my first (of the year) Northern Parula and I’m also fairly certain I heard a Pine Warbler. The Green Heron was sighted today too!

Several new flowers are in bloom too. Remember, the lists for flowers I post are what is newly in bloom. Previously posted flowers may still be in bloom as well. In the next couple of weeks I’ll have an update on everything that is in flower – new or old. Okay, here is the latest list!

Large Flowered Trillium
Large Flowered Bellwort
Golden Ragwort
Pussytoes
Virginia Bluebells
Pale Violet
Redbud
Serviceberry
Wild Blue Phlox
Celendine Poppy

Lot’s of new flowers in bloom – a new post is on it’s way! A big THANK YOU to Deb, from www.trekohio.com for helping to fix my picture posting problem!

A couple things to add to yesterday’s list!

Flowers
Grape Hyacinth
Bloodroot

Birds
Yellow-throated Warbler

Well gang, things are happening but slowly. I think this week’s warmer temperatures and chances for rain will really help get things going. I’m going to list a few more flowers that are in bloom, but please keep in mind that these are the first ones. Nothing as of today is blooming in a widespread way.

Daffodils
Chickweed spp.
Speedwell spp.
Spring Beauty
Rue Anemone
Smooth Yellow Violet

(uploading pictures is still not working sorry……..)

Stupid birds! Although to tell you the truth I used a different word when I discovered that I was NOT hearing a Black-throated Green Warbler last week. Anyone want to hazard a guess at what bird I was hearing?

………………..

A Chickadee. Can you believe that? I was leaving on Saturday and heard the elusive “zeee zoo zoo zee!” It was close but of course I had no binoculars. Then I heard it again and I looked up. In the dead elm along the driveway there was the bird singing that song and to my surprise it was a Chickadee. So disappointing. Oh well, they can do that to you!

Happy birding!

I couldn’t resist the Star Wars reference because I keep having to tell myself to have some patience waiting for warm temperatures and more flowers. I only have two more flowers to add to the list of bloomers – Coltsfoot and Glory of the Snow which is a cultivated bulb.

Today though, the pond turtles are enjoying the sunshine by basking on logs out in the big pond and the Spring Peepers in the wetland are “peeping” away.

We had a big pine tree go down at the end of the boardwalk a few days ago. The landscape of the wetland area has a new look with the top of that tree “sprouting” up from the water. Tom is diligently working to fix the transition at the end of the boardwalk to make it passable again.

While we are still waiting for the main body of our migratory birds to come back, I did hear a Black-throated Green Warbler for several morning this past week. He seemed quite early, so I had to double check that I had the species right for the song I was hearing! I’m looking forward to the Yellow-throated Warblers and Louisiana Waterthrushes that also make earlier comebacks.

Today, let’s just enjoy the sunshine and warmer temperatures and continue to look forward to our spring wildflowers and songbirds!

Here is your first list of in bloom flowers and interesting bird sightings for the 2013 season!

Flowers
Snow Drops
Skunk Cabbage
a very small cress  species

Birds
Phoebe
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Wood Ducks
Mallards
Canada Goose
Great Blue Heron
Red-shouldered Hawk
Turkey and Black Vultures
and all the regular winter feeder birds.

There are a few other things coming up. I saw a trout lily leaf (there were probably more), bluebell leaves, cut-leaf toothwort, and many spring beauty leaves. In fact I did find one just opened spring beauty flower, but it was off-trail. I saw that particular plant on my way to check on the blue cohosh. It is a pretty early wildflower and I know of a spot on a southern facing slope where there is a small group of them. Here is what they look like right now.

**So I started this post Friday afternoon, and had a problem uploading the pictures. I decided to come back to it this morning (Sat.), but the problem remains. So no pictures with this post…Sorry!

Anyway, the point is that the temperatures may be brrrr chilly, but spring is springing anyway. This time of year is great to see what micro climates can do. Do you have flowers in southern facing area? Do they bloom earlier than others? Do you live in the city and get trees blooming before those is rural areas? Or do you live (or work) in a cool valley where it takes a little more time for the soil to warm and flowers to pop? Take a walk in your neighborhood and see how many different micro climates you can find!