Over the past couple of weeks, illness, family, work, and house have to varying degrees made it difficult for me to keep up with my intention to post daily. It’s often the case that I look back on these down times with a certain amount of regret and/or annoyance, since I end up having gaps in the record, and I’m sure there are things it would be nice to remember. I recently started using a new sidebar widget to post links to posts on this date in past years – I’ve found it interesting to go back and refresh my memory about what was going on, and so far have already found a couple of things I had forgotten about completely that were of relevance to current questions I’ve been asking.
Temperatures have been significantly warmer since last weekend. It’s been a little strange since even though the temperatures are up in the mid-40s, it doesn’t always feel warmer. I suspect it has something to do with the on-going breezes and the increase in humidity that tends to put a chill in the air. Despite warmer temperatures and some rain, the only the surface of the ground has thawed. While the ice remains below, the top layer gets over saturated with moisture and puddles form or the dirt can become a bit soupy. If temperatures remain this warm, I imagine the ground will thaw out before too long.
I’ve not done a lot of birding lately, but have noticed the first spring migrants in the form of increased gull numbers. It’s possible some waterfowl have begun to move as well, though I’ve not been looking in places where that would be clear. Some mornings around the house the bird activity has been quite high, with many Varied Thrush calling, and a Pacific Wren singing down the hill to the east-northeast. A couple of days ago I noticed a Red-breasted Sapsucker working over a Mountain Ash – the first time I’ve seen a sapsucker on a deciduous tree this year (they focus on conifers in the winter).
I haven’t seen a deer in the neighborhood for quite a while, but Connor said he saw some tracks at the edge of a pile of sand down at the base of the hill to the southwest of our house.
I haven’t noticed much in the way of spring plant emergence other than domestic plants (crocuses, snowdrops and rhubarb). Given the warm temperatures of late, I imagine the first blueberries will be blooming shortly.