What an odd spring we’ve been having lately! While the snow appears to be in our rearview mirror, the cold seems to be sticking around. Mix that with all of the rain and high winds, it almost seems like Mother Nature is toying with us and tossing in a 70-80F day every once in a while just to keep us interested.
What I’ve learned is that you need to make the best of what you have. My son for example was playing in our backyard sprinkler last week and if that’s not a glass half full, I’m not sure what is. While it may not exactly be sprinkler weather, there’s plenty of exciting things to see outside this month.
The pelicans are back! This cold wet spring hasn’t stopped migratory birds from making their journey back to Wisconsin. Head out to just about any natural area and you’ll hear and see tons of birds that weren’t here a month ago. I was out at Patrick Marsh a couple of days ago to see if the pelicans had arrived and while they were in small numbers, I was happy to see they were back.
Not only that, my son and I were able to watch them hunt for fish. If you’ve never seen pelicans do this, it’s quite a sight! They all swim alongside one another and then form a quick circle and dunk their heads under water to scoop up fish. It reminds me of synchronized swimmers! Check out this short VIDEO to see what I mean.
Prairie willow
It’s not just the birds that are back. Plants are starting to show signs of life as well! Just walking through my neighborhood I’m beginning to see some of the earlier spring flowers popping up like crocuses, daffodils, tulips, and peonies.
While out at Westport Prairie last week, I noticed that prairie willows are even starting to show off their fuzzy catkins. I’m sure you have seen willow catkins in this stage before, but have you noticed what they look like up close when flowering? Take a look at the photo below to see a much further along pussy willow beginning to flower.
Pussy willow flowering
Here you can see the process unfolding all on one stem. At the bottom of the plant are the recognizable fuzzy catkins, and as you move up the stem, it’s much easier to see how it changes its form. The yellow you see is pollen and this pollen doesn’t spread via the wind. Instead, willows rely on insects for pollination. Yet another reason to save the bees!
Pasque flowers looking their best
We’re nearing the end of the pasque flower season, but since spring has been pushed further back this year, it’s still possible to get out there and see them before they’re gone for the year. The petals open and close depending on the amount of sunlight available. If you head out on a cloudy day, there’s a good chance that most of the flowers will be closed, but head out on a sunny day and they should look like the photo above.
Well, I hope you enjoyed my virtual tour of nature as it’s happening. However you experience the outdoors or nature, be it physical, virtual, spiritual, or anything in between, I encourage you to do it!
See you next month!