3/17/2022
The official end of winter is one week away, but I threw in the towel a while ago. Lots of bitter days but no real snow this year; at least nothing that lasted long. I made it out twice after the beginning of the year.
My first outing was a bit of target birding. In particular, one bird. It had been a while since I had seen a Winter Wren. Their spry, jumbled song is beautiful to hear. They have a lot of attitude, too. One had been reported about 20 minutes from my house. The temperature had dropped a couple days prior, and we had a nice blanket of snow. I wondered into the small park and enjoyed the crisp morning air. The sun was shining and not many people were out. I immediately ran into another birder who said he had just seen the most cooperative Winter Wren he has ever come across. He said it followed him around as he walked the area. With high hopes, I scooted down the trail a little quicker. I would like to report that I was as fortunate as the previous birder, but I did not have as much luck. I had a hard time even locating the bird, at first. The bird was actually hiding (probably feeding) under the footbridge. It popped out for some pishing, but it did not exactly pose and follow me around. Still, it is hard to complain. It hopped around, sang, and did cute wren things. I even got a photo.
A couple weekends later, I stumbled back out to see if I could see my shadow. Sure, I was a week late for Groundhog Day, but my shadow did not mind. A light flurry had been coming down all morning. Every time I started thinking I should head out, it would let up. Then it would start snowing harder. I hopped out back for a few shots, and it stopped snowing. I missed out due to procrastination. I have become a bit of an expert at that. The next day was forecast to be sunny, but we actually had some lingering snow showers in the area. I had slept in, again, but I was not going to be caught-out this time. I grabbed some gear and headed over to Eagle Creek Park for some shooting. I spent a couple hours driving around and shooting. I do not know that I had a lot of luck, but I got a few shots to share. It was just nice to be out, and it was nice to watch the snow fall. There is probably nothing more beautiful than a nice gentle show shower.
With that, we will call winter a wrap. It was almost 70 degrees F here, today. We have had the windows open for the past couple of days. The crocus are up, and the maple tree is all budded out. So is the lilac bush; although, it tried blooming again in December. It seems to be a bit confused. Regardless, I think it is safe to say that Spring is here.
Thanks for reading,
Mike
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