Meanwhile Back in the Northern Hemisphere

I find one disconcerting thing about travel is the way it yanks you in and out of seasons. In Australia it was a steamy hot jungle in the north, then a perfectly 70 degree wonder in the south and now back at home with one day on the calendar into spring, it is snowing. Or was snowing. And may snow again.

Snow aside, spring is here in the extremely modest way it begins on the Cape. Somewhere skunk cabbage is blooming
and last week, I heard the wood frogs croaking away in the chilly waters around the bog. Peepers are reported to be peeping and my Phoebe is back flicking its tail and looking ready to get on with the business of nest building.,
A crow flew overhead with a stick in its beak, and although it seems early, when I check Stokes guide on Bird Behavior it seems they are right on cue. The last week of March through May nests will be made, some that may only be decoys and one in the most sequestered of locations for the real thing.

We had some sunny days last week when I first returned and both in the woods and across my porch skittered the first chipmunks of the season.
I always tend to think these are males, first out and looking for action. I won’t see chipmunks on a regular basis for at least another month. The females give birth in their underground tunnels and are tucked away busy with childcare for some time, so again, regular hourly raids on the sunflower seeds are still a ways off.

My little seasonal barometer is in for another ricochet experience for as of this weekend I shall be heading down to TN where spring is in full swing and my daughter is about to have our first grandson! If once again there is a pause in the blogs know that I am fully occupied with our own nestling of a sort. Time again for my granddaughter and I to lay out yarn all over the bushes and see who takes us up on our free building materials. Last year it was amazing how quickly it was snatched up. The blackbirds that roost in the neighbor’s bamboo are back, so nature reporting from down South may continue.

There were still a lot of unresolved Australian topics to cover. Having the incredible fortune to see a Cassowary in the rain forest,
being on hand to watch “mutton birds” (Shearwaters) return to their nests at dusk, and finding Koalas right where they were supposed to be, and occasionally doing something other than sleeping, are all future topics, if time permits.

Meanwhile, Spring is officially here throughout our hemisphere, but perhaps showing itself in many different ways depending on the latitude you find yourself in. Woodcocks will be doing their dance in my absence this year, but anyone who is curious to read more about them would simply need to look at the blogs written a year ago if you wanted an refresher on Woodcock dancing.
Not that I imagine that is on the top of your “to do” list, but if it is, you should find them easily enough. Now, back to cooking and laying up enough meals to keep a husband alive for three weeks. Till free time comes my way again. Happy Spring!