No doubt about it now. Spring is well underway. Noticing more and more vernal-like events and behavior. Hepatica was blooming on the trail today. The flowers were the most delicate, absolutely beautiful shade of violet. The flowers almost appeared grateful for the sun as I lifted their heads up. The three-lobed leaves of this spring wildflower were its particular “doctrine of signatures”; resembling the liver to some eyes and thus being a sign from above that hepatica should be used for the treatment of liver aliments.
Elsewhere on the trail, the ospreys are in earnest preparing their nests. We often see them soaring overhead. Their flight is lower than many hawks. They also tend to “wander” a bit more in flight. On this day one of the pair was soaring overhead of us, passing back and forth. Undoubtedly, we had been perceived as a potential threat and worthy of surveillance. It’s an eerie feeling walking the trail and looking down and noticing the shadow of this large bird passing overhead.
On the flipside, we ventured out onto the lake this past weekend. Ice out was declared last week. The weather was sunny. A friend who just purchased his first boat was anxious to be on the water. After trying to find a landing with docks installed, we launched the boat. We had the distinction of being the first boat on the lake and were applauded by a man installing his own dock.
Now having not dealt with this phenomenon of “ice out”, the appearance of the lake can be deceptive. You think, okay, the water’s open. Let’s get on the boat. The thing that someone not originally from Minnesota would not count on would be on cold a breeze blowing over water with lingering ice can get even on a sunny day. The one thing I’ve learned about Minnesota is that it’s best to take your time. Let the lake warm up a bit. Give the earth a chance to thaw before planting those flowers. Just because it looks warm and inviting, it may still need some time. We know that now, but the guy we saw water-skiing that day probably had a different idea.
If you found this page useful, consider linking to it.
Simply copy and paste the code below into your web site (Ctrl+C to copy)
It will look like this: Signs of Spring