Up in the air?

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