Nature Note:Soggy Snow

What could have been a pleasant snow turned into a heavy,wet one as a wedge of warm air sliced into the cold,causing freezing rain and plain rain.Nonetheless,the first northern cardinal song was heard yesterday,and house finches were singing this morning,which is one of the first reminders of spring.It can't be called a sign of spring,as that season is two months off,but the birdsong is a presaging of it.Certainly the days are noticeably longer and the tree buds are a little bigger then they were a month ago.

Nature Note:Ice Again

So far,much of the Mid-Atlantic region has seen precious little snow this winter.Mostly it's been a wintry mix of snow,sleet and freezing rain.Yesterday morning began with sleet,then rose to plain rain,and finally fell back to freezing rain overnight,ending as plain rain once more this morning.It's a shifting about of layers of temperature and moisture,a very dynamic regime.The ice decorates the trees and shrubs even as the rain pours,saving the day from dullness.There is something rarefied to look at beyond the cold buckets being dumped on our heads.

Nature Note:First Winter Storm

The first winter storm arrived yesterday.We got an inch of snow,or2.54 cm,topped by freezing rain.The young white pine was bent over under even the small weight of the snow and thin glaze of ice from the freezing rain.It wasn't taking any chances.It reacts to the slightest weight to avoid breakage.How many of us are as vigilant about our health? No wonder the white pine can live to be an old growth tree.