The Daily Bucket is a place to catch your casual observations of the natural world and turn them into a valuable resource. Whether it's the first flowers of spring or that odd bug in your basement, don't be afraid to toss your thoughts into the bucket. Check here for a more complete description.
Sneaky flowers. I watch them day after day after day, and nothing. Then I have to be away for a couple of days, and come home to find they've bloomed while I wasn't looking. I'm sure they did it for no other reason than to confound my attempts to accurately record their activity, but in any case I'm putting down 20 Mar 2011 as "first bloom" for both my daffodils and crocuses. There had already been some of these same flowers in bloom in my area for nearly two weeks, but those don't count as they weren't stuck on the northeast facing slope in front of my house.
One other observation from this weekend: ants. Lots and lots of tiny winged ants whirling in their tornadoes of nuptial frenzy. I did a close examination to make sure that they were not termites (when you live in a log house, there's always a termite-phobia lurking close to the surface). I was also concerned that they might be some of the little midges that seem to be associated with the illness some of our oak trees are suffering (though actually I think the midges are drawn by the sickly-sweet smell of the damaged trees rather than causing it). Nope. Little tiny black ants plus wings. After close examination with a hand lens, I think these guys are Pavement ants (Tetramorium caespitum). Though with 400+ species of ants in the area, it's hard to be sure.
In any case, I'm hoping that tomorrow I'll have some pictures of things around the house, including the new greenhouse that's now 80% complete… if a little crooked because despite a day of swinging a pick axe, the base is still a couple of inches out of level.
What's going on around your place? (Note: at work today, so map updates may be infrequent. Thanks.)
Today's observations come from these locations
Share your own observations in comments, and I'll add a marker to the map. Please give a city and state (as close as you feel comfortable in providing). Green pins for observations mostly about plants, brown for animals, and blue for weather or other inorganic items. The letter at the center of each pin will be the first letter of the user who provides the data.