Sunday, March 13, 2022

More Signs of Spring

Let's check out the Canada Geese on Lake Eugenia as we continue yesterday's drive.  Tonight is daylight savings time here, and next week the temperature is expected to rise right into the spring range.  It's forecast to be 12°C (53°F) on Wednesday and Thursday!  I can hardly wait.  Those rising temperatures are the real sign of spring.

To be honest there weren't many geese and virtually no ducks that we could see on Lake Eugenia, but this did seem to be Canada Geese central for those we saw.  Many of them are paired up, though of course not nesting, while the 'teenage' geese will wait another year to find a mate.  Since most geese stay together as a pair for life, I guess it's worth taking your time to pick a mate.

Are these three pair!  Probably, and what better sign of spring could you ask for?

These too, off by themselves, definitely were.

Leaving Eugenia we headed north and down into the valley, Kimberley in the centre of the picture.  From this angle it appears largely forested, but driving around it appears much more open.


North of the village, through the flat bottomlands of the river, the Red Osier Dogwood were turning bright red, another sign of spring we always watch for.

And finally the Black willows were turning an even brighter shade of yellow than normal.  We always watch the dogwood and willows as we drive around this time of year.

Finally it's over the big Algonquin Shoreline created during the post-glacial period about 11,000 years ago and back down into Meaford.  A thoroughly enjoyable drive and several obvious big signs of spring.

A few other signs of spring are less obvious, but still important:
    - stores are featuring displays of seeds for planting,
    - garden sections in the big box stores are being organized,
    - barbecues have been brought out to front and centre,
    - gardeners at home are scheming and dreaming about their plans for summer,
    - and maybe starting seeds indoors under lights or on a windowsill,
    - nurseries are getting in their stock and preparing for the later spring rush,
    - apple growers are finalizing their plans for the summer,
    - it's March Break this week,
    - churches are planning for Easter services,
    - the streetsweeper is being given a last-minute check (I hope!)
    - if you look closely there's a reddish hue in the trees,
    - buds are starting to swell and preparing to open,
    - the first Sandhill Cranes have returned,
    - owls are nesting in the woods, eagles usually in tall open trees,
    - Tundra Swans are moving north and may be passing overhead soon,
    - And above all it's maple syrup season in the bush and sugar shack!
        My favourite sign of spring!

You can find three posts featuring the Kemble Maple Syrup tour early in April, 2015.


  

15 comments:

  1. Love that LONG LONG road.
    We were having warm weather and then came the snow storm!
    Nice to know spring is not far away.

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  2. It's sap season! Yippee! That long road is wonderful.

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  3. That road running over the hill in the distance is one of my favourite photos of yours. It makes me want to go there and follow it into the future. The dogwood is so pretty this time of year!

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  4. We had tundra swans last week, they may be up your way by now. Red-winged blackbirds and fox sparrows are back as are ring-necked ducks -- it's spring!

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  5. Those long views capture the imagination.

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  6. How wonderful! I knew spring would get there for you eventually, and it seems it's happening all at once. The first day of spring is a week away. :-)

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  7. Real Maple Syrup down here, not just the " Flavoured with" type, yummy beyond any other, but so expensive. NZ $35 a litre, to $49 for 946 mls. Queen brand, 250ml for $10. A bit like passionfruit, this year our vine provided us with LOTS, but in the supermarket, $39.99 a kilo, so I weighed 4, and it worked out at $1.60 per fruit!!! Love that drive down the dip and up the other side, you will be so thankful the frosty and iced roads are almost gone. I can see Mrs FG in some of those items listed for the arrival of spring.

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  8. We broke the bank and took a country drive today. We are seeing some open water in creeks that are quite fast. We drove through a bird sanctuary but it's still frozen and still. Other than idiots driving snowmobiles through....grrrr

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  9. The only sign of spring here is the slight melting that happened yesterday and uncovered the dirty snow. However, the weather forecast is for better temps starting Tuesday so I'm hopeful spring is finally on its way.

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  10. Yes, we can put a green checkmark besides all those signs of Spring alright. Saw my first Robin a few days ago. And just think, it's only one short week to SPRING. Who would have ever thunk it huh.

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  11. Many signs of spring at our southern latitude - Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Killdeer.......Wonderful!

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  12. I heard geese flying overhead on the weekend.

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  13. Nice list of spring. Here plant potting supplies at the landscape stores are in short supply! We still have problems getting stuff and our spring is a month ahead of yours. The resident geese are doing a mating dance ont he river.

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  14. nice oval colour and shape to the black willow stand.

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  15. Love your signs of sprng post. The pictures are great. The red dogwood is awesome in its bright color.
    Enjoy the warm temperatures!!

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