Report it Jan! You're ahead of the migration map!

Congrats on your cook top. Though I don't understand how you could come to the conclusion that it doesn't compare to my cooking when I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of cooking for you!

It's warm and sunny here. Everybody was wearing short sleeves and shorts when I walked the dogs. My crocuses have been going all out since the 6th, and I'm enjoying all the other signs of spring. Sandhills and robins are here... those hummers should make their way north in about a month and a half... I'm sure you'll take good care of them in the meantime. :o)

I am so looking forward to this party. Nothing better than welcoming the new season with a houseful of people I really like. Though it occurs to me: Who in their right mind plans a stupid big party three days before an international trip. The answer, of course, is "no one."

Spring is such a wonderful time. Mother Nature knows what to do to bring us from the dark to new beginnings.
Janis, our son (adult) who is facing some heavy medical issues came over this weekend and said he just luved driving around and look at the cherry trees in bloom. He said it made him happy.
Come GA or CA, the cherry trees are a harbinger of spring.

jazmynsmom, I see nothing wrong about planning a big ole party before a trip/event of any kind. It takes organization for sure. I've done cross event parties of all kinds. Tennis/Ski/Tea social/School Library/Corporate/ etc.. and family functions. Just name a few. Have fun.

DD said 'her' Rufous-Sided Tohee was in her backyard the other day---he's early and he is welcome to STAY!!!!!

'My' Rufous will be here in a couple weeks!

I never consider the season fully in swing until the catbirds come back the last week in April, the Baltimore orioles and woodthrushes the first week in May, and on their heels the Towhees. Their "drink your teeeeeeeeeeeee" is so loud and I can hear it way back in the woods before they make it to our yard.

Our towhees have been back about a week now. I saw a pair of them Monday, and one of them was marked like a Western race. I fumbled with the camera to get it documented, but couldn't get it focused in time. When I did get it ready, the unusual bird never came back. DD has already seen the beautiful blue warblers. The turkey buzzards are back, too. And although we had a few robins stay through the winter, and snowbird robins are back and hunting worms in the soggy soil from the snow melt-off.

The cowbirds and red-winged blackbirds have been back for awhile now and my hellebore are in bloom, along with the primulas. See green on the lilac buds, and the maple by the chicken coop is burst in bloom.

You know spring has arrived officially when you see the fourth of July decorations in Gagmart. LOL.

Michelle, my dot is on the map sitting up there all
by it's self.
I reported it yesterday.

You are a lot more adventurous than I when it comes
to cooking or mixing drinks.
I'll let you know when I get a new oven.;0)

We went to gagmart today but we did not see any 4th of July decorations yet, we did hear a coo, coo from the garden center and when we looked up we saw a pidgeon happily sitting between all the barriers that gagmart had erected.

Woo-hoo Jan! You ARE the northernmost dot on that map! Congratulations!

This isn't a spring thing, per se, but I got super excited yesterday while walking the dogs with Steve in our neighborhood. A bald eagle did a low flyover right over our heads. There's a large winter population of them just up the river, and our neighborhood is located between a creek and a big lake, so it's not completely unexpected... but it was VERY cool nonetheless!

I noticed the buds on a pear tree in our neighborhood had popped yesterday. That's the first I've seen yet this season.

My harbinger of Spring this year was the pair of Great Blue Herons I saw coming out of the woods just across the road from my house - there's a colony that nests there, kicking an amazing racket when they do. Looks as though they're setting up housekeeping again.

Contrary to the above reports, spring is definetly not here. On the high plains old boss winter is reluctant to give up his reign. We get teasers like today where the temps are in the high 50's and the sky is cloudless but the incessant north wind reminds you of who rules the roost. We are supposed to have up to 6" of snow tomorrow and much colder temps.

Why do we live here? It sure isn't because of the climate. Winters are harsh and long, spring is usually short and often brutal, summers often blisteringly hot with that again incessant wind. Then comes fall, glorious fall, warm days cool nights and usually settled weather, last October it snowed 33" but that is unusual.

The river is lined with sandhill cranes and the sky in the early morning and evening is black with cranes. There are other hundreds of shore birds that use the Platte as a staging area, more kinds of ducks than I have a name for and the snow geese are covering the lake in town.

When I was liuving with my grandparents, granddad had what he called a swale in the middle of a pasture and in spring it was almost always filled with snow melt making a pond perhaps 200 ft long and 50 geet wide. Not over a foot deep and we really weren't on any major flyway but invariably there would be some water fowl that would rest on it, probably because our ducks would spend most of their time there. Grandad would always let us know what birds he had seen but his greatest pleasure came when some snow geese stopoped there. It didn' happen every year but I can remember a number of times it did. He waould always say their name is ----- hypoborea, don't remember what he called the genus but we were entranced with the hypoborea part. He would always explain the that meant goose from beyond the north. Wish the taxonimists hadn't changed the name, goose from beyond the north sure sounds more exciting and exotic than the present days dry latin name.

Just wrote a book again when all I was goling to mention was the weather.

George, you mentioned the WX, and everything else you mentioned was affected BY the WX, so it worked beautifully.

You are sweet, energizing nectar on this spring day....

Just got back from making a dump/recycler run---it was gorgeous out, in spite of the interesting smell of garbage wafting thoughout the Saab!
(man; if I EVER get my hands on Ol' Blue, or ANY pu truck again I'm not sharin' ever again---it doesn't work. Five long months ago, it was the old boss's turn for some weeks---haven't seen it since and the boys from the salvage auction got their hands on it and ran the tranny dry. It sits inside a fenced-in area at the old car lot with its tailpipe tucked between the rear wheels. Poor Ol' Blue---I'm the ONLY one who loved you and bathed you and told you you were handsome!----and beautiful, too!)

Sometimes it may be difficult to think that spring is coming when mother nature is dumping stuff like snow and tons of rain and other calamities on us.But spring is renewal time.

Some 35 years ago we planted a climbing Peace rose and she is one tough cookie. Come spring she blooms no matter what she has had to endure. Wet winters, dry winters, bad caregivers, (I hang my head in shame), aphids, brown spots, mildew etc..., but every spring she blooms.
Below is link to a photo where she is sneaking a bud through the trellis.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:148379}}