Looking Back

Some past phenology dates to compare with this year:

• Snow.  In 2007 we had about 6 inches of snow on April 11; last year our last big snowfall was the day before spring break (late March) causing me to miss my friend's wedding due to air travel being impossible.
  
• Daffodils.  In 2008, the first one didn't bloom on the side of my house until April 14, which is over a week later than this year.  But in 2007, it was Mar 26.
• Herps.  In '07 and '08, there were turtles and/or garter snakes on April 5 (possibly earlier and I didn't see them) which is right in line with this year's timing.  I noted the first Chorus frogs on April 2 last year, much later than this year; in '07 it was Mar 22.  
• Ticks.  The first ticks were found on April 16 and 14 in 'o7 and '08, respectively.  So we'll be looking out for those shortly.  
• Ephemerals.  In 2007, bloodroots were blooming nearby (OO) on April 5.  I haven't checked this specific location yet, but I would be really surprised if they were blooming now. 

So there are just some interesting points of comparison.  It appears things happened late in 2008 (or early in '07, but in general, we're closer to 2007 this year.)