The snow crunches under my feet as I make my way to my phenology site. Despite this, the sun shines on my face and its reasonably warm. About as March as March can get. Robins and Chickadees sing in the tree tops, still relatively barren- only their buds showing the foliage to come in a month or so. The Eastern White Pines are the same as ever—snow falling off their green needles and branches and onto my shoulders. Buds pop up all around me, showing future Birch leaves, Cedar twigs, and Rhododendron flowers. Some dried and open seed pods or flowers still cling to the old branches, soon to be discarded.
A rhododendron bud is swelling, soon to be one of the first signs of new life onto the white landscape. Though snow has covered the mud and the tracks on my site, the Earth is beginning to alight with energy. A sign of spring to come.
