March is an unpredictable month. We’re just as likely to have a blizzard as we are to have a 60 degree sunny day. But even though there are still a few weeks left until the official start of spring, there are already many early signs of spring’s approach. Many of our year-round resident birds have started to sing in earnest, in preparation for defending a territory and finding a mate. The Carolina wren in my hard has been “tea-kettling” his…
Everywhere you look, preparations are underway. Sometimes those actions are easily observable. For example, people are preparing for holiday gatherings and festivities, and gray squirrels are lining their nests for additional warmth and stashing away acorns in preparation for winter. Even within our own house, my husband and I have been doing our own preparations – getting ready for the birth of our first child (who’s due any day now!). But sometimes those preparations are more subtle, and require a…
That’s what Punxsutawney Phil said anyway. I say 6 weeks and 4 days, since the official first day of spring (the vernal equinox) is March 20th. In early March after we’ve had a few pleasant days and folks start remarking that “spring is here” I’m always the first one to chime in and remind them that winter (i.e., cold, snow, nor’easters, etc.) is not over yet. In fact, sometimes it refuses to go away even after the official first day…
Last night the temperature dropped below freezing for the first time this season – down to 18 degrees, in fact. Although there wasn’t as much frost as I would’ve imagined, there was ice. (Last year’s first frost happened ten days earlier – October 31.) While taking a walk this morning near Santuit Pond in Mashpee, with the temperatures still hovering around 32 degrees, I observed frozen ditches, puddles and ponds. The surface of this small pond had frozen. Interesting ice…
Last night marked the first frost of the season in Bourne. Recording occurrences such as the first frost is important to the study of phenology. Phenology is the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena. The word itself is derived from the Greek word phaino, which means “to show or to make appear”, and the Greek word logos, which means “study”. Therefore, phenology is concerned with the dates of the first occurrence of biological events and natural phenomena in their…