Spring is Here! For Real This Time...

Two absolutely beautiful, perfect days in a row. No snow even! Sunday night it actually rained, gave everything a brief but thorough soaking. Followed by more sunny days, but seasonally cool-- no immediate plunge into summer.

Artemis, "our" sharp-shinned hawk, breezed by this morning, a strafing run (or so the chickens thought it). She didn't stop for breakfast, or even pause. Just checking out her territory, evidently. And the juncos are gone. Takes longer to notice an absence, so I'm not sure exactly when they disappeared, but sometime in the last few days. Grosbeaks and orioles have, surprisingly, not shown up yet, but we're looking forward to their arrival. Only a few hummers are here so far.

Sand lilies (Leucocrinum) and Nuttall violets are blooming now, along with the ubiquitous salt-and-pepper (Lomatium). Will have to go check for more signs of spring. Husband and I did see a few pasque flowers on Earth Day, up the canyon at Dedisse Park in the ponderosa forest, where I was checking for my favorite ground lichen, a profusely branched Cladonia I've yet to pinpoint.

And that's all for today...