Unbelievable! So many plants are pushing their way out of the ground. Just a quick glimpse at what is rapidly unfurling and flowering around the learning center.
Top two photos: Lady fern fiddleheads
Fragile fern fiddlehead
» Continue reading Fairy slippers, lady fern and trailing yellow violet
All around the learning center spring is in the air. Birds are chirping, blossoms blooming, mosquitoes buzzing. It’s a glorious change from the blanket of snow that has been on the ground throughout the last few months. Two weeks ago many of us grad students packed up some bags and left for a week of “spring break.” It felt odd at the time calling it such because the roads still had piles of snow on the sides, many trails were still covered, the air was still crisp with a touch of frost, and very few creatures were venturing out.
We returned to the learning center this week to find that our porches, which had been buried in snow from winter roofalanches, now had barely any remnants of snow. The trails no longer required waterproof shoes to keep your feet dry from the heaps of slush covering the paths. Birds have begun to sings and twitter about catching bugs and nesting. The most exciting part of it all however, is that the plants are beginning to blossom.
A winter weather advisory is currently in effect for the west slopes of the Cascades, the trails around the learning center are covered with deep, crusty snow and still the buds on trees and shrubs around the learning center are hinting that they will soon open. There are too many reasons to list for loving this season; among them are the anticipation of spring, the splendor it prompts, a plethora of opportunities for questioning, observing and marveling, and astonishment at the resilience of nature.
I’m getting ahead of myself. I should start this post with a warning. I’m impatient. This is a fact that is recognized by many people in my life. I often joke that my twin sister got all of the patience. All of it. This character trait prompted me to explore the learning center a few days ago. I was in search of the first spring buds.
I’ve recently taken up a new hobby, I like to call it twig tracking.
I started twig tracking to feel more connected, to feel at home in all seasons. Twig tracking is just a fancy name for native plant identification through the cold winter months. It sounds a lot more exciting if you call it twig tracking.
