Into Every Life...

They say into every life, a little rain must fall.  Lately, we could use more than a little rain -- it's been very dry even while just north of us, WI and MN have gotten lots of storms and flooding.  Yesterday afternoon (just in time for the farmers' market to be cancelled), we got much needed rain in the form of some pretty heavy storms and some lasting light rain as well.  This morning, we got another little burst... I got caught out in it, totally unprepared, and had a soaking we walk.  But when you get caught in the rain, you get to see the rainbows!

With rain, we also got the "blooming" of the cedar apple rust galls.  

These look like alien life forms coming down to colonize earth via cedar/juniper trees, but are actually a fascinating manifestation of a disease that has a 2-host life cycle, alternating between these evergreens and crabapples, hawthornes, and other members of the rose family.  The galls on the cedar trees, taking up to 2 years to develop, look like hard, lumpy, brown golf balls until spring rains allow the orange telial howns to swell up.  They look like some sort of tentacled marine creature mysteriously misplaced in a branch a thousand miles from the ocean!  These release spores, then die... but the disease lives on as the spores find their crabapple (etc.) host.  On those leaves, they manifest as a yellow-orange spots.  Eventually, these, too will release spores that... you guessed it... infect the cedar trees!  And the cycle continues.  It's the circle of life... and it moves us all..

Finally, Sun! And flowers.

After over a week of relentless rain rain rain (and chill) we finally have some sun, and it looks like it's here to stay for a while.  

In the world of trees... some tiny leafies are starting to peak out -- especially on crabapples (pictured here) and lilacs.  

Also, red maples are flowering so brightly red, they're earning their name this week!

And some early magnolias have started flowering, but mostly they're just quite swollen.

In the prairie, not much happens this early, but prairie smoke is in that "almost" stage:

In the world of bulbs, quite a few daffodils are blooming, but most are still not there yet.

I also noticed some early hyacinths flowering. Oh, and periwinkles, which are not bulbs but we'll group them here as cultivated non-native flowers.

This violet photo is actually from last week -- on 3/31 I noticed them flowering, but I was too lazy to do a post for just that.


Many, many interesting ducks migrating through this time of year.  I don't carry binoculars or a bird book or a good working memory of duck ID, so... you'll just have to trust me that they're interesting.

Four days into official spring (the equinox came and went while I was in Atlanta, where spring is much further along than it is here!), we have one nice, warm day before we go back to chilly for the next week.  The frogs are taking full advantage, singing their comb-plucking song loudly in the wetlands.  

Here are other things I noticed:

Forsythia is blooming:

The pussy willow catkins have greened up with pollen: 

The Siberian elms are flowering (I know, the photo is terrible.  They're high up; I'm short.)  This is the first step that will lead to me pulling tons of tiny elm seedlings from all over my yard later this year.  Yea.

Cornelian cherry dogwood flowers have bees buzzing all around them -- I managed to get one in a picture!

And, at some point recently, the "pine" tree (it's not a pine but all the kids call it one, I believe it's a spruce) at the old homestead nearby has fallen over.  This large tree marked the site of the front yard of an old farmhouse that was razed in the 70's.  The tree was a favorite of students, so it's sad to see it fallen!  RIP, spruce/pine tree.

OOPS!

I just went to post some updates from today (3/24), and saw this in drafts... It was from 3/13.  My bad!  I thought I posted it... I'll just pre-date the post. 

At any rate, on 3/12 night through 3/14, we got quite a bit of snow.  After no measurable snow in January or February, we got snow AND cold as March moved in.  FUN!  So here's a photo from then... 

Purple Post

We are in the midst of 3 (so far) days of incredible, relentless wind.  And by incredible, I mean it is literally hard to actually believe that is has been this windy for this long.  Makes being outside rough.  

Still, finally got out for a walk yesterday afternoon and discovered these new flowers:

Iris

Scilla

Spring is marching on!

In like a Lion...

Happy March!  

I spent a lot of time looking down today on my walk.  There were several reasons for this.  First, it was extremely windy and also spitting rain.  Also, last nights torrential rains and thunderstorms left puddles to avoid and also WORMS! all over the pavement.  Definitely something to avoid, as a person.  I did enjoy watching 2 robins hop around and pick them up, though. 

Looking down, I got to see a lot of bulb plants poking their foliage up through the soil... The rounded still fingers of daffodil leaves, the wide pointy tulip leaves... Every yard has its signs of spring emerging.  Still, I was pretty surprised to see this actual purple crocus poking through!  (This same yard had many purple and a sprinkling of yellow crocuses, all in this stage of bloom.)

At one point when I did look up, I was taken by how much the aspen catkins had changed in the past few days -- and how wet and sorry they looked, like a soggy dog!

BTW... glad I got out for a little walk before this happened:

This was the afternoon view out my office window... thick, whirling, swirling snow.  I guess Baba Marta has some dirty carpets.  (Explanation: today at school we celebrated Baba Marta day, which is a Bulgarian holiday to welcome and encourage the start of spring.  Grandmother March is very temperamental and gets angry or sad and then happy as the March weather quickly changes.  We were told than when it snows in March, that's Baba Marta cleaning the dust out of her carpets.  We all learned something new today!)

It turns out...

...it is actually still winter.  We didn't get a lot of snow, but significantly, it was cold enough for what we did get to stick on the ground for a while.  

A Semi-Tropical Weekend

The most clear and obvious sign of spring, or climate change, over the long weekend, was certainly the weather.  It hit 70 on Saturday, and was in the 60's Sunday and Monday.  The next 2 days, at least, promise to be as warm.
Here are some other signs of spring that I saw this weekend:
Showdrops -- these have probably been up for quite a while, I just haven't looked.

Photo 2/18/17

It was probably a great weekend for birders.  Even as a not-birder, I noticed that there was a lot of activity... things that are here all winter were just active and noisy.  I saw robins (which used to be a harbinger or spring) and killdeer abounded.  We are technically in the summer range of the killdeer, according to Cornell, but we're so close to the year-round range that seeing them now isn't necessarily hugely significant.  There were ducks, mallard and otherwise, swimming in the open waters.  Red-wing black birds were all over, their calls piercing the air.  (I know that photo isn't clearly recognizable as a RWBB, you'll have to trust me on that!)

Photo 2/18/17

Silver maples always have early-swelling buds, but these ones are definitely opening and letting their flower parts show:

Photo 2/18/17

I also saw my first woolly bear of the spring.  I also saw a millipede, and we had a little cranefly in our house.

Photo 2/20/17

Welcome Back!

Yes, it's been a while... over two months that I've been remiss in reporting the weather oddities of this winter.  Here's a brief overview.  December was actually quite snowy and wintry.  We never had a school-cancelling type of precipitation event, but we had several 6-inch snowfalls at regular intervals.  And then, over the holidays, it melted on a couple of 50 degree days... and it never came back!

January was a month of interesting records, some of them official.  We had the least amount of snow (that is to say, we had no snow).  It rained several times, so I can't say it was the driest January, just the least-snowy.  January also had a strong of days in the double digits long where we didn't see the sun at all.  I believe it was the cloudiest January... it seemed like it, at any rate.  (Except for women's march day -- that day was sunny and lovely and warm!) 

February has just been mild.  We've had some lovely sunny days, some warm days... this crazy winter has made regular winter days seem unbearably cold.  Every once in a while we have a day in the 20's, which would be a normal winter day in any other winter, and everyone (including me) carries on like it's the coming of the next ice age.  And then after a day or two, it's in the forties again.  OR the fifties, or the sixties.  Today it hit 63, and it's supposed to be in the sixties for the next 3 days.

What prompted me to get out my camera was open water.  The ice hasn't been safe for a while, but it's been covering most of the lake.  Yesterday it was well over 50% covered.  Today:  

Mostly open water!  I'm sure what's still left will be gone soon, what with the predicted warm weekend.  I'll be honest, the weather is disturbing, both in the short term and in the big picture, but you can't change the weather (in the short term, anyhow). So I'm going to try and focus on enjoying it rather than worrying about it!

Let it Snow!

Yesterday's snowfall, which lasted from about 9 am until after dark, had some pretty impressive numbers (and broke official records for Dec. 4)... over 6 inches reported in most places (6.5 at O'hare) and over 8 in some places.  However, the snow fell on earth that wasn't that cold yet, so it didn't start sticking right away.  My driveway, which, being black, held out the longest, had less than 2 inches this morning.  The deck, on the other hand, with air flowing under it, has over 4 inches... I didn't measure, but it doesn't look like 6 to me!  At any rate, while it lasts, it's lovely.  It was a sticky snow so the branches (and berries!) all have white coatings. 

Meanwhile, there is some ice on the lake, but very little, less than 25% cover.  

It's C-c-c-cold

Yesterday it was in the 60s, but brutal winds carried in a cold front... this morning there are snow flurries swirling all over, even starting to stick. Welcome, winter!

(And happy birthday to Chris!)

Times, They Are A-Changin'

As we approach the Harvest Moon on Friday and the Equinox on Thursday next, things have been feeling different... while days have been lovely, nights have dropped into the 50's.  It is a noticeably un-summer-like cool when I leave in the morning.  Plus, the shortening days -- which change the drastically around the equinoxes, about 3 light minutes lost per day -- are really noticeable.  It's dark before I'm ready (and we haven't even fallen back)!

Ugh. I see the beauty in all seasons and weather, but I do love summer.

I Know, I'm Behind...

OK, I've been remiss as a blogger and, to a lesser extent, as a phenologist.  I have all sorts of excuses, though they all boil down to one, really... I've been on school trips.  This means that a lot of the observations I've made haven't been here, but rather 2 hours north or 2 hours south.  It also means I'm extremely busy, and extremely tired.  So some data has been lost.  I know.  Irretrievable.  A day of laziness, data lost forever.  There's always next year. 

At any rate, I'm typing this on May 23, but I've dated the post 5/16, because I actually did take these pictures on that date.  Just didn't make it to step 2, uploading (or step 3, writing, or step 4, publishing...)  So here's just a taste of what was happening a week ago:

Columbine blooming.

Dogwood (red-osier) blooming.

Chokeberry blooming, and feeding a big fat bee. 

Honeysuckle blooming.  All over, because they're terribly invasive. 

Also important to note: we had our last freeze on 5/14, which was a very cold day.  I don't think it topped 40 as a high... there may have also been frost on 5/17.  There was where I was sleeping, and that was SOUTH of here, so it would make sense.  But I wasn't home to witness it.  

History Repeats Itself

Last week began with a warm and beautiful Monday, followed by a cold and gloomy Tuesday.  This week has started identically... we broke 80 degrees on Monday, which was sunny and breezy and lovely.  Last night, a front came through -- it started with brief but violent storms -- the photo below is hail on my deck.  It only fell for about 5-10 minutes, but it was a loud and violent 10 minutes.  Overnight, the temperatures fell, and today we're looking at a high temperature about 30 degrees below yesterday's.  And it's not raining, but it's not dry, either... it'd be a good day to stay at home with a book or a puzzle, but that's not an option...

 Here are some other updates from the past 24 hours:

Leaf-out photos... above, basswood/linden/however you prefer to refer to Tilia species.  Below, silver maple, which is not only leafing out, but getting the famous samara "helicopter" seeds. 

Look at this fascinating fellow.  At one point in my walk yesterday, I brushed many of theses mayflies off my shirt.  They must have had an emergence in that area.

OK, I know this isn't the best photo, probably not even worth showing, but... look how YELLOW that goldfinch is in the center.  They just make me happy. 

And in the flower world... the first lilacs are starting to open...

...those redbuds have started to open...

...tomorrow I think we'll be showing crabapples opening, they're so so close!

State of the World

I've been failing in the end game for the last few days... I've been taking pictures and notes, but haven't managed to dedicate the computer time to getting blog entries actually published.  So here's the state of the world right now.  

The state of the world is lovely.  Warm and sunny and only lightly breezy.  This is the third day of perfect weather (and Friday was only a slight bit cooler) and I love it.  I can run and run and never think about the weather.  I can work in the garden -- and did I ever this weekend.  It's just... just... I can't even express.  Marvelous spring weather for the past few days. Here's just a bit of what I've been seeing...

• The first tick was found (not my me) on 4/14.  YEA!  Now we get to feel false (and real) creepy crawlies whenever we're out in the prairie or woods for the next 2 months!
• Pasqueflowers also reached their peak bloom on or around 4/14, when I took this photo. 

• Dandelions have been blooming for a little over a week now, but I didn't photograph one until Friday. 

• Crabapples leafed out -- this picture is from Friday, and by today they're even greener and leafier.  With them, the honeysuckles, the boxelder, and the lilacs (photo from today) leafing out, not to mention other shrubs like spirea, my blackcurrants... the understory has a definite green tinge to it. 

 

• The Norway maples are flowering -- their green-ish flowers fool people into thinking they've leafed out, but it's flowers first.  Red maples are also flowering (have been for a while, actually).  Sugar maples haven't started yet.  

• While we're on the subject of tree flowers, cherries have just started, and magnolias... they're in full and fragrant bloom, a full spectrum from whites and pinks to purples.  Really just a lovely treat. 

 

• Less pretty, but cottonwoods are catkining and actually the catkins are already falling like rain when you stand under the trees.  Soon they'll be sending off seeds like snow! 

• Celandine poppies started flowering this weekend...

• In the world of bulbs... daffodils are at or just past peak bloom.  Tulips are just starting, only a few varieties open.  Hyacinths are in full bloom, too. 

• In the insect world, I started seeing white butterflies all over this weekend.  Also ants, and those big fuzzy bumble bees.  And...
• I saw my first green darner!  It's dragonfly season!
• In the bird world, so much, and I'm not a good birder.  Wood ducks and yellow-rumped warblers.  Bob o'links.  Killdeer.  Buffleheads.  So much more...

OK, I think that'll be it for now... if that's not enough to process!

Happy Earth Week! (One day is not enough!)

Really Not Amused...

By what I saw when I woke up today:

Ephemerals Emerge!

OK, first, I would like to state that the weather is officially weird.  We came home from the Green Schools conference in Pittsburgh (note: 2 degrees latitude, and therefore about 2 weeks ahead, phenologically, of home) on Saturday.  That afternoon was cold, and the weather switched about every five minutes, from snowing -- almost white-out conditions -- to sunny and back again and back again.  The only consistent thing was extreme wind, which presumably was moving the rest of it along.  

Sunday dawned cold -- 26 degrees -- and topped out at 71 degrees.  This swing of 45 degrees is the 13th highest single-day warm-up in Chicago history.  (It was also... you guessed it... windy.)  And overnight, the cold came back.  Today's projected high is only 36!  Notably, it's breezy but not crazy windy, at least!

We were able to wander around my parents' yard  (about 10-15 miles south) during this brief mild period yesterday and saw... spring beauties:

and hepatica!!!

Seriously, isn't that a nice, healthy, beautiful bunch of hepatica?  Wow!

Welcome Back to IL

Wind, snow and a big flock of cedar waxwings...

Lovely Spring Break Weather