Northbound Transient

This morning I listened to a white throated sparrow calling from my neighbor's silver maple tree. (Old-Sam Peabody Peabody Peabody.. one of the few bird calls I know) I couldn't see him hiding high up among the swelling buds, but his call was clear and frequent. Every year these guys pass through the area on their way back up to balsam-scented high places farther north. Perhaps due to all the snow remaining just north of here they'll stick around for a while. Whenever I hear his call I'm suddenly 100 miles north and 2000' up, so if this guy wants to enjoy our feeders and hang out in the backyard for a while, we're overjoyed to extend our hospitality to him. However, I understand if he feels the urge to continue his journey; I feel that call myself.

Friday I watched a pileated woodpecker slam his head into a towering dead branch on one of our old sugar maples. I had never seen this type of woodpecker- this wasn't the fast drilling sound I'm used to from smaller woodpeckers. This guy slammed his head repeatedly into the wood, sounding more like a hammer- I was getting a headache just watching him. A magnificent black and red bird and large- maybe 10" tall?

Running in the woods on Sunday with a friend and two dogs, our feet found mostly ground and water and only the occasional patch of snow. Chasing through the woods again felt great! Now that the days are so much longer I'll be out in the woods more often, watching the trees begin to bud. Quite a lot has changed in two weeks- I can see 80% of my yard, and with 60 degree temperatures for the rest of the week, it seems spring is here to stay, and we may not make our record snowfall. There's always next year.

I have crocuses around, impressive because we planted none last year. They have been out for two weeks, are exclusively purple, and are coming up in places no where near where we planted them. Fun; we suspect squirrels.

The tulips are poking through as well, but no flowers yet.

Oh, and the sap. To end on a sad note, we managed to burn our second run of sap as well, the product of many hours and perhaps 20 gallons of sap. We lost our willingness to burn more propane (and $) and abandoned the operation for the year. Lessons learned- we'll collect wood for next year, we need a large pan on which to boil (more evaporation area), and when the sap is getting close to finished it needs to be watched very very closely. Anyone need 40 gallons of sap?