Yellow Crocus

I was beginning to think that nothing would begin blooming. I usually have crocus blooming by the end of February or the first of March. I just discovered these blooms 2 nights ago....so all I can say is....Better late than never.

Winters final fury....?

Friday dawned bright and sunny with a forecast for 50 degrees. I spotted two Turkey Vultures soaring on the thermals and a painted turtle sunning himself on a log in the pond at my office. These two sights created in me an overwhelming sense of contentment....Spring was near. My excitement was short lived however, with the voice of the weatherman blaring on the radio "100% chance of Snow, accumulations up to 5 inches!"

NO! Say it isn't so! NO MORE SNOW! I simply cannot take it, not another day! 

Unfortunately for me the weatherman was right, Friday night the snow began to fall, and it continued to fall all day Saturday, with gusty winds up to 25 MPH. It was a frigid, miserable day, this first day of Spring! What is the old saying about March roaring in like a lion and leaving like a lamb, or is that the other way around? 

All told this latest snow storm dumped 5 more inches of snow on us. Sunday the temperatures reached the 40's and melted the snow, on the already water-logged soil here in NW Missouri. The ground here just can't hold any more water. When I walk across the yard, the water squishes up out of the soil and feels like you are walking on a water-logged sponge. 

It was still quite chilly yesterday, but I was still prompted to head outside and see what birds were hanging at the feeders. I found chick-a-dees, sparrows, Northern Mockingbirds, Northern Cardinals, Juncos, American Goldfinches, Downy Woodpeckers, Yellow-Bellied Woodpeckers, Starlings, Common Grackles, and White-Breasted Nuthatches all busy feeding, and tormenting each other. Breeding season is on the horizon. Each morning I am awakened to the sounds of the birds singing a delightful chorus, in the hopes of attracting a suitable mate. Apparently the recent weather activities do not put them off in the least. Once they have sex on the brain there is not stopping them.

I am hoping and praying that Saturday's snow fall was a fluke, and that warmer days and sunshine are ahead.

Seriously, one 60 degree day in 4 months is enough to make even the nicest person cranky....yes.....I mean me. I am getting seriously cranky! I need warmth! I swear being born in Missouri was some cruel joke the fates played on me....I should have been born in a different hemisphere, I just know it!