Signs of Spring Archives

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Barb — 1 Comment

Spring Giveaway: Sharing Your Observations

This has been a great experience for me to read all the different comments sharing how spring looks in your area and when you truly know it is spring! Before I announce the winner of Weather Lapbook from Hearts and Trees, I would love to share a list of some of the signs of true spring shared in comments from readers. I want to thank everyone who left a comment sharing your springtime goodness. We will have to do this again in another season because I enjoyed it so much!

Flowering Bulbs

I am in SW Virginia and in this area, it’s the forsythia, the grape hyacinths, the violets, and the wind!!!
Here in the boondocks of Quebec, it’s when you can see the crocuses pushing through the last snow….
When I see the crocus come up that usually means spring to me….
Here in Oregon you know it is spring by the clumps of yellow all around from daffodils

Changes in Trees

…Southern middle Tennessee – we know that spring has sprung when the Bradford pear trees turn white as snow with blooms…
We know Spring is on the way in the Carolinas when the Bradford Pear trees bloom white all over town…
We know its spring here (Vancouver BC) when the cherry blossoms bloom.
In south Louisiana, it’s the pecan trees! They say you can’t fool the pecan trees, they won’t get leaves until after the last frost.

Green Grass

The grass has greened up, the streams are bulging and sap season is over.
Spring for me is the day after the first thunderstorm when the grass begins to turn green.

Return of Migratory Birds

This year, the signs of spring were the birds. Even though nothing else seemed to want to wake up, the birds came and started to sing.
The kids love it when the robins start coming back to the yard.
When the birds that fly south for the winter come back.
When the geese start to fly north again I know that the weather is getting nicer and we are (most likely) done with snow.

Rain and Mud!

Rain boots and mud tracks through the kitchen!
At our house in Rochester, NY, we know it’s spring by the reappearance of tracks.
Spring? Means Rain. Rain. Rain. Rain, with a chance of Rain.

Flowering Bushes

We know that Spring is on its way when the Daffodils, Red Buds, and Dogwoods bloom.
We are on the Gulf Coast and spring here is always heralded by the blooming of azaleas!!!
Hanging wisteria.
Ah Spring. Our spring actually happens when the lilac blooms

Spring Babies

The baby chicks and turkey poults arrived and our first baby goats of the season hit the ground.

The winner of the Weather Lapbook is…

Casey from Bumpin’ Along The Road Less Traveled.

I would love for you all to hope over to Casey’s blog and see her beautiful images in this recent entry: Evening. You will feel like you have taken a trip to springtime. Lilacs! Wow! Wish I had some of those blooming in my yard right now! Thanks Casey for all your hard work on your blog and hope your family enjoys your Weather Lapbook.

Sewing project, art print and projects, handicrafts, and a lapbook!

I also encourage all to pop over the Hearts and Trees and see Amanda’s latest art, handicraft, and nature study kit for spring. She did a great job pulling lots of interesting things together this time around!

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Barb — 4 Comments

Spring Weather Observations 2011: Clouds and Sky and Green

The sky has been amazingly beautiful this past week. Although the temperatures are still a little cold, we have enjoyed bright sunshine every day except for last Friday when it snowed! Just a little. Today it hit 60 degrees on the thermometer with breezes from the south….just enough to stir up the pollen and drive me indoors. I really needed to get this Spring Weather Observation Challenge posted anyway.

We were able to do a little hiking this week in the afternoons where we noticed the buttercups are in full bloom. The hounds tongue and the shooting stars are still going strong as well.

Other things we noticed this week:

First mosquito
First hummingbird at the feeder
Dandelions!
Apple tree blossoming
Tulips blooming
Dew in the mornings and not frost
Longer daylight hours after dinner
Robins singing

Look at the color of that apple blossom bud! This is on our tree that we planted last year so I am excited to see it growing. I need to research whether it is better to let the apples form on a new tree or if I should take the blossoms off for a year or two to allow the tree to grow. I am new to apple trees.

So is anyone else already suffering from spring allergies? It has hit me fast and hard this year so whatever is pollinating right now is killing me. With sniffling nose and itchy eyes, I spent three days in the yard working on clean-up, pruning, and getting garden boxes ready.

They are looking better than they did when I shared our garden progress a couple of weeks ago. We are adding pea gravel around the boxes as a way to keep the weeds down. We have a stockpile of gravel in another area of the garden so we are just moving it by wheelbarrow from one side of the yard to the other. More on the garden next week when I have my plans done and a few more things to share.

Jami’s Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Posted on March 20, 2011 by Barb — 4 Comments

Spring Was Here and Now It’s Snowing

My blog entries over the last few weeks have shown what wonderful spring weather we have been enjoying. This week we had snow, heavy rain, and high winds. In between storms we would rush outdoors to drink in the sunshine and get some fresh air. The daffodils are still blooming, several vases full at a time which contributes to my good mood.

Our signs of spring have been popping up all around us and I made a personal list of things to study in the next few weeks, some with the Handbook of Nature Study and some with my field guide.

1. Dogwood (Handbook of Nature Study page 680)
2. Spotted Towhees-Where do they nest?
3. Red Shouldered Hawk
4. Iris (Handbook of Nature Study page 571)
5. Hair Cap Moss (Handbook of Nature Study page 709)

Our new dogwood tree (planted last fall) is beginning to show signs of life. We purchased it when it had lost its leaves already so we are anxious to see it leaf out and blossom too.

Our forsythia continues to spread its own yellowy sunshine in our yard, providing shelter to the sparrows and towhees that sit on its boughs.

The buds on this tree are ready to burst open and seem to be waiting for just the right moment.

Mr. A’s tulip bed shows signs of life this week and on careful examination you can actually see the flower buds forming. Now that says spring!

Last year I featured this flower in my signs of spring post and I didn’t know what it was called. I have since done my homework to discover its name because I wanted to plant some more in a different area of the yard since it is such a great bloomer. It is Laurustinus – Spring Beauty. I actually found some to purchase at our Home Depot last week and four new plants are happily placed by Mr. A over on the other end of the yard now.

How quickly our weather changes this time of year! We went from sunshine to rain and then to two inches of snow in a matter of hours. Now today it is back to rain again with periods of snow showers that wash away with the next wave of rain.

The daffodils still add color to our yard even with the snow coming down. I picked quite a few and brought them inside so it feels like spring at least on the inside of the house.

The birds were not deterred by the snow and they gathered at the bird feeding station. We all sat and watched the birds flying in and out as the snowflakes came down all around. They sheltered under the nearby lavender and would pop out to flutter up and take a few nibbles.

So there you go…a wide range of spring weather and lots of promises for a future summer of color and goodness.

Looking forward to seeing your signs of spring this week!

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Barb — 15 Comments

2011 Spring Series – Signs of Spring

Spring nature study is like swinging open the doors and windows wide to a new world, a green world accented with yellow and pink.

A simple spring nature study starts as soon as you start to notice the changes around you. Your family can begin by noting the signs of spring in your part of the world. As always, I want to emphasize that my focus for any nature study plan is to encourage families to take a few minutes each week to go outdoors with their children and enjoy their own backyard and neighborhood.

Some signs to look for:

* Green grass/weeds in your garden or alongside roads
* Wildflowers-Dandelions, violets, or mustard
* Spring bulbs like crocus and jonquils
* Bird activity, migrating and nesting
* Warmer temperatures and more daylight
* Blooming trees like dogwood, cherry, or apple or perhaps your trees are budding out
* Insects return and activity
* Mud-look for animal tracks

Here is a printable notebook page for recording your Signs of Spring.
Here is a Spring Nature Walk Worksheet for you to use with your family. My daughter put this together a few years ago and it is a favorite for spring nature study in young families.
Here is last year’s Signs of Spring entry. I enjoyed reading through everyone’s 2010 entries.If you participated, it might be fun to compare this year with last year.
Have a great week and enjoy whatever weather you are having.

You may also be interested in my Spring Nature Study Ebooks!

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Barb — 6 Comments

Our Signs of Spring: Glorious Spring Flowers

Our world is waking up from a long winter’s nap and here are some of our signs of spring.

Dandelions are growing everywhere now in our backyard and even though they are in the lawn, they make me surprisingly happy. I refuse to call them weeds. I love to see them poking up in the cracks of our sidewalk and along the path to the garden. They are like little mini sunflowers in the springtime. If you have some dandelions in your yard, don’t miss the dandelion challenge in the new Spring Nature Study Ebook. You can also read all about dandelions in the Handbook of Nature Study.

There is also a nice big mullein growing in the backyard and I know from last year’s mullein that this is a plant that grows like crazy. We watched a mullein grow in our garden all summer long and it provided a great source of food for the bees, the hummingbirds, and then later the finches. This plant is listed as a weed in the Handbook of Nature Study too. I can’t imagine why.

These are the buds unfurling on my new apple tree. My dear husband brought this tree home and planted it just for me. How did he know I wanted to study the apple tree up close using the Handbook of Nature Study? We are going to be keeping track of its growth as part of the Spring Nature Study Series as well. Let’s hope the deer stay away from this tree and we can have a few apples in the fall.

We have a bush on the north side of our house that is blooming with these pretty white flowers. I do not know what the bush is called, but I think it is rather pretty.

We also took a few day trips this week….thanks to an early spring break and some glorious weather.

If you have never smelled daphne blooming before you have truly missed out on a springtime delight. We discovered a garden filled with daphne at one of our state parks. I think it something we would like to add to our home garden.

I was sitting under a tree waiting for the boys to meet up with me one afternoon and look who came to inspect. These Brewer’s blackbirds flew into the tree overhead and let me take their photo.

We visited a farm that has thousands of daffodils blooming this time of the year.

I decided that daffodils make me happy.

Once again, I had my son as a companion photographer.

Isn’t this a great color combination? I love the mix of daffodils and hyacinths in this garden.

One last sign of spring from our day trips…tulips. Wow! This one was really red and brilliantly colored.

I have really enjoyed reading everyone’s signs of spring this week. Thank you to all who have participated.

Posted on March 19, 2010 by Barb — 18 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge-Signs of Spring Bonus Challenge

This is a simple one:

Make sure to mention to your children that Saturday, March 20th is the first day of spring. Take your Outdoor Hour time this week to look for signs of spring in your backyard or neighborhood.

For many of us, this past week has brought warmer temperatures and with the time change, more light in the evenings. This is an exciting time of year for all of us as we anticipate the many changes the new season will bring.

Some signs to look for:

Green grass
Wildflowers-dandelions
Spring bulbs like tulips, crocus, and jonquils
Birds, perhaps nesting already
Warmer temperatures
Blooming trees
Insects

You can use the notebook page below to record your signs of spring or you can use your own nature journal.

Signs of Spring

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Barb — 8 Comments

Tour of My Early Spring Garden Today

I thought you might like a little tour of my early spring garden since the rain stopped last night and the sun is out this morning. Everything is a little damp from the rain still.

The tulips are all up and promising to give a colorful display very soon. This was my purple garden last year but I added a few new tulip colors so it will be a surprise when they bloom.

I honestly can’t remember this flower from last year, but it is bursting with oranges and greens in the far corner of the garden.

There is an explosion of primroses under my other birdbath. These were transplanted from Amanda’s garden box last year and they love this spot in the garden.

Ahhhh….this means it really is almost spring here in our neck of the woods. The grape hyacinths are blooming in all their purple glory. Now if I can just keep my boys from mowing them down along with the grass.

Little tiny flowers…can’t remember the name of this one….are blooming if you keep your eyes focused for the pretty periwinkle color.

My daffodil patch is ever so close to blooming and since it is by my mailbox, I can see it every day as I collect the mail.

Everyone who reads my blog with any regularity knows that I have a “thing” for lavender. This year our plants promise to give us a beautiful show of color and fragrance. The hummingbirds have already spotted these blooms and in the early morning I have seen them out here sipping at the flowers.

I learned something this year quite by chance. I left my broccoli plants in the ground and in a few pots all winter and this is what happened….beautiful yellow flowers. The hummingbirds have been in these blooms as well. I think next year I will leave a whole bunch of broccoli plants in the ground because they make really pretty blooming plants.

I would call this a true *spring green*. The moss growing between the bricks in my little arbor is thick and soft.

We have a new development in the front yard. We noticed today that the Scrub jays are building another nest in our magnolia tree. They fly back and forth with little twigs….hundreds of times over the course of the day so far. They are very busy. If they succeed in building their nest, this will be the third year in a row in this particular tree.

Hope you enjoyed my little tour and if it is cold and you are having winter weather today, I hope it cheered you up.

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Barb — 5 Comments

Signs of Spring: Waterfalls and Wildflowers

On Monday we drove down to the bridge across the river near our house and this was what it looked like. The rainstorm has brought the river level up much higher than last week and look at that mist…..awesome.

We got a chance between pouring rainstorms to go out for a hike today. It was colder than I expected but it was worth the effort. I took a short video of one of the creeks that has sprung up since the rain started last week. Enjoy the sounds of water rushing down the hill.

Here are a few more shots of a different waterfall along the trail….one that I have shared before. The water was the highest we have seen yet.

What a glorious little waterfall.

There is a flower just starting to bloom right at the waterfall.

Here is what the flower looks like close-up.

I think it may be some sort of saxifrage…not sure.

We also were treated to some Shooting Stars today….the first I have seen blooming for this season. I didn’t get a decent photo but I will try again tomorrow.

This area around the trail is changing very fast now and it has a whole different feel to it as we take our walks. Spring is very, very close.

Tag: Signs of Spring