The Vernal Equinox has occurred, marking the beginning of Spring! This was supposed to be the beginnings of some warmer weather, but over the weekend, we got somewhere around 8 inches of snow, which is almost more than we’ve gotten at any other point this year… so although we were expecting the onset of Mud Season, our phenology spot in Trinity Woods was instead covered with a blanket of snow.

While there weren’t many physical signs of animal life besides the tracks we’ve been identifying recently, we could see some tree buds beginning to swell and even open! None were flowering yet, but hopefully, they will soon. Unfortunately, there weren’t many noticeable bird sounds either. Here are some pictures of one swelling bud and one opened bud, both of which were positioned in the sunlight, which probably is why they were developing so early in the spring season:

That was all for this visit! Hopefully there will be more to see before the end of the semester, like some blooms and actual indications of wildlife/amphibians!