March 2024
Pacific Northwest
The weather has turned cold and windy this past week but spring is still emerging in fits and starts. I took the sunny pics in this report before the weather turned cold and stormy. This morning there was some actual snow in my yard.
7:30am March 4
A week ago, spring teased us.
Fresh greenery:
Clockwise from top left: Salmonberry, Orange honeysuckle, Oceanspray, Snowberry
(Rubus spectabilis, Lonicera ciliosa, Holodiscus discolor, Symphoricarpos albus)
Stinging nettle
Earliest flowers:
Red-flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum
The one and only Salmonberry flower I’ve seen so far
Soon the Ribes and Salmonberry will be in full bloom, and the Rufous hummers will show up. That’s usually the second week to middle of March.
Earliest insects, flies working the male Soopolalie flowers:
Flies in Shepherdia canadensis
The chorus frogs were singing 10 days ago, some weeks earlier than usual, until the recent cold weather hit. They’ve gone quiet again.
In the meantime, allergy season has already started now the redcedars and alders are releasing pollen. Ugh. It’ll be many months of scratchy eyes, congestion, brain fog and daily loratidine, which helps somewhat. Seems worse every year.
Red alder ripening catkins make the leafless tree look pink. The red of its name comes from the color of its inner bark though.
Those blue skies and greenery and hints of color tell me we’re transitioning into spring but we’re still seeing plenty of winter too. The past week of clouds and relentless high wind have even the local horses saying it’s getting old, and winter birds haven’t left yet.
Horses sheltering in the lee of a shed from a strong cold wind yesterday.
Winter migrant Golden-crowned sparrow perches amongst leafless Nootka rose bush branches.
Nevertheless the native perennials are pretty much on time, both leafing out and flowering. It’s a Pacific Northwest spring.
💨
THE DAILY BUCKET IS A NATURE REFUGE. WE AMICABLY DISCUSS ANIMALS, WEATHER, CLIMATE, SOIL, PLANTS, WATERS AND NOTE LIFE’S PATTERNS.
WE INVITE YOU TO NOTE WHAT YOU ARE SEEING AROUND YOU IN YOUR OWN PART OF THE WORLD, AND TO SHARE YOUR OBSERVATIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PURPOSE AND HISTORY OF THE DAILY BUCKET FEATURE, CHECK OUT THIS DIARY: DAILY BUCKET PHENOLOGY: 11 YEARS OF RECORDING EARTH'S VITAL SIGNS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS
|
Overcast in the PNW today. Scattered rain/snow showers. The wind has dropped. Temp 33°F this morning, may get back up into the 40s later.
WHAT’S UP IN NATURE IN YOUR AREA TODAY?