indefatigable spring

today was ice out on my lake! a huge spring milestone for minnesotans. while low temps, late snows, and gray skies have gotten us all a little crabby, nature has been quietly doing its thing anyway. here’s what’s been going on: the migrating birds have returned, the hibernating insects and reptiles have awakened, the snow has melted, the ground has thawed, the ponds have swollen, frogs are calling for mates, crocuses are up, the sap is running, the bubs are swelling, and the early catkins are staring to release their pollen to the wind.

coming soon, we can expect: magnolias and forsythia bloom, migrating butterflies and dragonflies return, birds and waterfowl start laying eggs, catkins continue their show (maple, birch, aspen, and finally oaks), springs ephemerals start to the woodland floor (hepatica is first), ramps appear, fiddleheads unfurl, and finally new leaves being greening everything. apple blossom and lilacs are still a month away. it all happens very fast here in the north. it’s quite a show.

pussy willow in spring rain

holding on tight

winter has got a tight grip on spring this year. but i am not worried. spring is resilient. this photo says it all.

spring rain on pussy willow with wild grape vine

the cycle of life in one twig

there is lot going on on this little alder twig. there is this year’s dangling male catkins full of pollen, last fall’s female cones, this year’s leaf buds, and last summer’s leaf soon to be pushed off by the new growth.  wow. all that on the six inch tip of one scrappy twig, beside one pond, along one of my many trails. the cycle of life in microcosm.

speckled alder (Alnus incana ssp.rugosa)

no surprises

okay, it should come as no surprise that right as spring begins to pop here in the north, the house plants also begin to show off. (it makes sense, that same spring light is now streaming in through the kitchen windows as well). anyway, this well behaved and happy monstera in my kitchen has decided that now is the best time to start sprouting new leaves in every direction. so much so, that it will soon outgrow it’s corner or i will have to start trimming the new growth or find a new spot for it. a few years ago, photos of monstera leaves were very popular, but never did i see any unfurling monstera leaves.  this “baby” monstera leaf is probably 9 inches long. as in all of nature, “baby” is a relative term.

monstera leaves 

metaphorically speaking

i keep staring at this photo. it feels significant–symbolic somehow.  i keep trying to decide: is this a metaphor for marriage–two people standing close together, supporting one another through life and creating a loose scaffolding of entanglements in the process? or is it a metaphor for raising children–tender young charges reaching skyward on their own path of self-actualization while using the love and strength of their parents as support? i’m curious, what was your first thought on seeing this photo?

over-wintered cattails with vine