Keeping It Green

Spring is here in a big way. Every day there is a new arrival. We knew we had made a turn from winter when the red-winged blackbirds showed up the end of last month. It's odd with returning migrants; first, there's no sign of them and then suddenly one day they're here. You can spot a returning flock by how they group themselves. You'll find them pretty close together at first until they disperse and start the search for territories and mates. I used to live in Illinois. One of the interesting things I noted with the red-winged blackbirds in Minnesota was the difference in their calls. Illinois birds sound more flutelike to me than the birds here. These regional dialects are well-known in the birding community. This difference was quite apparent.

Over the weekend we saw a single heron and a single egret. Maybe some brave ones of the flocks, flying ahead to check things out. Wood ducks and pied-bill grebes have also returned. We even saw a pair of Eastern bluebirds, already staking out a nestbox. It's such a joy to hear the birds again. The morning sounds that much more inviting.

The deer are more active now that spring is here. Food is a little hard to find until the buds start forming and the other tasty foods that deer like to nibble on become more available. This is another time to be extra careful driving. Hungry deer may not be as cautious next to roads.

One of my favorite spring past times is to observe the emerging spring wildflowers. Not too much up yet, but I did spy the tiny leaves of the trout lily and hepatica trying to poke up through the soil. It won't be long now before they're joined by Dutchman breeches and blood root. Hepatica, like many wildflowers, has an interesting history about it in terms of its folklore use. Because of its lobed shape, in folklore, it was thought to be a "doctrine of signatures" that the plant should be used for liver aliments. A logical assumption, I guess. Some of these folklore uses were surprisingly accurate and are used medicinally today.