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Up in the air?

3/22/2022

Warming temperatures had me wondering if spring was in the air.

However rapidly changing weather patterns made me question if the timing of spring was up in the air.

Despite the fact that the calendar declared the first day of spring on March 20, cold and dreary days made it feel like winter didn't want to release its grip.

A quick search of the internet showed that I wasn't the only one who felt this way.

The following quotes on March weather seemed to echo my feelings.

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” ― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations.

“Our life is March weather, savage and serene in one hour.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.” ― Lewis Grizzard

Nonetheless, the early spring posies made an appearance.

The snowdrops, snowflakes and winter aconite opened their blossoms.

But life abounds...

If you look for it.

And then it expands our possible knowledge.

Meanwhile, Facebook friends posted photos of crocuses. I had some yellow crocuses that had finally emerged. While the tulips sprouted up with their green leaves, it would be weeks until they would develop any color. Daffodils also sported buds with the promise of bright blooms.

My yard wasn't the only place starting to bloom. Skunk cabbage blooms appeared throughout the area near the neighbor's pond.

The air around the neighbor's pond reverberated with the sounds of frogs' mating calls. The croaking of wood frogs could be heard during the warmer days. Deeper in the woods, I heard additional croaking. I followed it to find a vernal pool filled with wood frogs. An informational graphic found on the Cable Museum's website explained that the sounds of wood frogs, boreal chorus frogs and spring peepers can be heard in March.
Here a is a link to the graphic www.cablemuseum.org/school-field-trips/museum- mobile/museummobile-spring-programs/first-grade-spring-a-northwoods-frog- chorus/? fbclid=IwAR2Jjv7lj3YacCZWMJV_R2RrWXbNcrusbMxwR6vcQm3uEKViH 3G1_2WNGko

The neighbor's pond was also visited by some returning Canada geese.

The warmer temperatures and open water additionally welcomed some swimming and soaking canines.

Meanwhile, more robins kept appearing. My parents' reported that they had some bluebirds interested in taking up residence in a bluebird box in their yard.

Birds weren't the only thing flitting around on the spring breeze. I spotted my first mourning cloak butterfly of the season on Saturday, March 19. Unfortunately, it was too busy to pose for a photo. Last year's first photo of a mourning cloak was on April 9.
The answer to the question of whether warmer spring temperatures are here to stay is still up in the air.

That's just the nature of things 'round here.

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All floofed up

3/12/2022

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What the floof is a borb? The Urban Dictionary defined floof as "an adjective used to describe a ridiculously fluffy object or an animal."

The entry said the word is derived from fluff and usually refers to a long-haired cat or an equally hairy dog.

An article posted March 10, 2020, on www.audubon.org by Audubon Magazine reporter Asher Elbein, mentioned that the term could also refer to birds.
The posting titled "What’s the Difference Between a ‘Borb’ and a ‘Floof’?" provided some insight on the issue.

Elbein wrote, "Consider then the borb. Urban Dictionary provides the canonical definition: a fat bird. This perceived fatness isn’t incidental to their appeal but central to it: ... the borb is roundness. Their plush, planetary shapes exert a gravitational pull on our hearts and minds."

Elbein went on to describe the differences in the terms.

"Interestingly, a floof is not necessarily always a bird. The word refers to any abundantly fluffy creature. In mammals, floofiness is largely a passive attribute, but birds engage in it as a matter of behavior," the reporter posted.

"It's also important to remember that a borb can also be a floof, as the latter only requires the fluffing of feathers," Elbein penned.

Frigid temps over the past winter season brought out the floof and created some borbs.

All the floofiness had me wondering about just how birds deal with the cold weather.

An article posted at www.audubon.org titled "How Do Birds Cope With Cold in Winter," provided some clues.

"Like us, birds are warm blooded, which means their bodies maintain a constant temperature, often around 106 degrees Fahrenheit," the article explained.

"Cardinals, impossible to miss against the snow, and other smaller birds puff up into the shape of a little round beach ball to minimize heat loss," the post continued.

The post explained that shivering is actually not a bad sign in birds "Birds shiver by activating opposing muscle groups, creating muscle contractions without all of the jiggling typical when humans shiver. This form of shaking is better at retaining the bird's heat," the article said.

The post went on to state that "some birds save energy by allowing their internal thermostat to drop."
" ... Black-capped chickadees and other species undergo a more moderate version of this, reducing their body temperature as much as 22 degrees Fahrenheit from their daytime level in a process called regulated hypothermia," the article explained.

Meanwhile, the Bartramian Audubon Society posted results from its Christmas Bird Count in December.

"The Pleasantville count found the lowest number of species since 2014, but the second highest tally of individuals. Highest ever numbers were recorded for bald eagle, common raven (pictured), Carolina wren, cedar waxwing, white-throated sparrow, hermit thrush, and gray catbird," said a post on the society's Facebook page.

Over on the Seneca Rocks Audubon Society's website, longtime birder Gary Edwards' list of spring arrival dates reminded me that despite the weather there were still birds on the move. I had seen an increase in robins over the past few weeks. I also heard the "peent" of an American woodcock and had some red-winged blackbirds at the feeder.

What kind of weather these returning birds will face changes every day. They may have to floof up and become borbish in order to deal with the cold. That's just the nature of things 'round here.

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"The Nature of Things" features the writings and photographs of Anna Applegate, who is a lifelong resident of Pinegrove Township, Venango County. She is a graduate of Cranberry High School and Clarion University. After a 15-year career in the local news industry, she made a change and now works at a steel finishing plant in Sandycreek Township. She is a avid lover of animals and nature, and a gifted photographer.

Very happy to be able to share Anna's great "The Nature of Things" blog.

Check out Anna's other artwork here!

Up in the air?

All floofed up

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