Nature Note:What Falls in Spring

Leaves fall in autumn,but in spring other things fall.Following pollination,petals from tree flowers fall,and maple keys fall from silver maples.Asian pear petals have been coming down like snow,but the maple keys,which contain the silver maple seed,are still bundled up in the trees.When they fall,many of them will sprout.They have to be one of the most prolific sprouters in the natural world.Here they grow into a northern riverine forest along with slippery elms.

Nature Note:Signs of Change

Before dawn,the constellation Scorpio rises in the southern sky.This is a sure sign of the approaching meteorological spring,which begins March 1.The silver maple buds are another sign.They have begun to swell and,if you wounded the trees,sap would flow out.Each day,the sun is stronger and higher than it was the day before.Red-winged blackbirds have returned to the pond,staking out their territories for the warm months ahead.The minds of growers are turning to planting when the ground thaws and winter will be forgotten.

Nature Note:Rudbeckia

The woodland is edged with rudbeckia,or black-eyed susans.When they go to seed,these wildflowers will feed the white-throated sparrows who have arrived for the winter,as well as the resident tufted titmice.There is some fall color in the silver maples,red maples and pin oaks,but peak color won't be till next week.The cool,dry air and bright sun ,as well as the yellow rudbeckia,intensify the leaves above the path.