After weeks of spring weather, spring officially arrived early this year – around 11 pm on March 18th. This week, the weather has been anything but springlike. There have been snow squalls every day and we now have more snow than we’ve had all winter. I suppose this gives some credence to the adage about March: “In like lamb, out like a lion.” Good thing we haven’t put our winter boots away!
We did manage a walk at Greenway Park on March 16th, just before the snow arrived, but it was windy and cold and the few birds we saw were always far away.
Below: a flock of European Starlings in a tree on the far side of the river, soaring Turkey Vulture, Wood Ducks on the far side of the river, and American Robins
We came across a patch of Winter Aconite. This is an early-blooming, non-native plant that has escaped from gardens. It can naturalize and become invasive under the right conditions. The entire plant, especially the tuber, is poisonous to animals and people.
In the face of the recent unwelcome change in the weather, we have to remind ourselves that in a few short weeks, there will be new growth and activity on all fronts. Here are some photos of what we’ve seen in the first weeks of April in the past three years.
Trees begin to bloom.
Below: Red Maple, Pussy Willow, magnolia, Manitoba Maple, cherry.
Colt’s Foot, Skunk Cabbage and Scilla blossom.
Overwintering insects emerge, sometimes a little tattered.
Great Horned Owls are growing fast.
Ospreys return! Last year, our Labatt Park Ospreys returned on April 1. Recent eBird reports show that Ospreys are now on the south side of Lake Erie. They are probably waiting for the weather to improve before coming farther north. We are not sure if our Osprey pair will nest at Labatt Park this year because the newly installed lights do not look like they will support a nest. We’ll see if the pair decide to use the low platform by the river…
Other birds are foraging, establishing territory and building nests. Some are just having a bath.
Below: European Starlings, Dark-eyed Junco, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, Red-bellied Woodpecker (female), American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Easter Bluebird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Red-winged Blackbird.
Painted Turtles come out to bask in the sun. White-tailed Deer graze on the grass that is no longer covered in snow.
By the beginning of next week, temperatures will be well above freezing and the snow will be gone. Stay tuned!
Songs with Names in the Title
Susan heard “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond and thought we should share a version with you. When I started to look for additional songs with women’s names in the title, I could not stop. There are so many.
I prefer live versions when a good quality version is available, even if they are cover versions. Some cover versions are “live in a studio” where the sound quality is excellent.
The song has been played at Fenway Park, home of Major League Baseball‘s Boston Red Sox, since at least 1997[36] and in the middle of the eighth inning at every game since 2002.[37] On opening night of the 2010 season at Fenway Park, the song was performed live by Diamond himself.[38] Several days after the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013, Neil Diamond led the crowd at Fenway Park in a rendition of the song.[39] Sales of the song surged nearly 600 percent in the week after the bombings, to 19,000 copies, up from 2,800 the week before.[40] Diamond said that he would donate his royalties from those sales to the One Fund Boston charity to help the people affected by the bombings.[41]
Wikipedia
To keep the list short for this post, here are songs with Susan, Sue, Susie or Suzanne in the title.
Bonus video, John Fogerty seen rocking with his sons.
With a snowstorm today, I can’t resist dreaming about baseball season. John Fogerty with his sons, daughter and custom guitar.