the swallows are here!

The swallows are here!! We got 3 inches of heavy wet snow overnight and everything is white. But there are swallows all over the place! I love to to see them swooping and soaring over the pond.

Someone asked for pictures. So I did my best a couple days later. It's pretty hard to photograph a swallow in flight. And it was too cold for me to try too long. This is what I got. One of the blurry swallow photos caught the mute swan pair in the background.

spring is coming

This week: forsythia, magnolias, chionodoxa, and daffodils are beginning to bloom. Lilac leaves are opening. A pair of chickadees is building a nest outside my window. I hear their spring song "dee-dee". I hear "old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody". The swan pair on the pond is chasing Canada geese and little ring-necked ducks have gone on their migration further north.

peepers singing

The peeper frogs started singing today. They are so enthusiastic!

From Wikipedia: The spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) is a small chorus frog widespread throughout the eastern USA and Canada. They are so called because of their chirping call that marks the beginning of spring.

I'm hoping to make a planting calendar app based on natural events someday. I'm probably relearning what previous generations already knew. In any case, I think when the peepers sing, it's time to plant eggplant and pepper seeds indoors. And it's time to get ready to plant pea seeds in the garden next week.

redwing blackbirds are 3 weeks early

This afternoon I hear redwing black birds at the pond for the first time this season. Last year I didn't hear them til March 27. So this is three weeks earlier! I wonder if I should adjust my planting calendars by three weeks?

A pair of mute swans arrived today too. The ice on the pond melted about 2 weeks ago. We've had buffleheads and ring-necked ducks diving since then. Also flocks of Canada geese making all sorts of noise all night. They're starting to pair off now. I think the swans keep the geese away, so maybe it will be quieter at night now.

I've had a bad cold so I haven't posted (or planted) in a while. It seems to be gone so hope I can catch up.