As a North Dakotan, I'm accustomed to hearing about spring arriving in other parts of the country long before it has sprung here. As I looked out of my kitchen window into a front yard knee-deep in snow, I could only imagine what it must be like to have trees leafing out and flowers poking up out of the ground.
This year, thanks to an unseasonably warm late winter and early spring, I don't have to try and picture the arrival of spring in my imagination. On March 21, the temperature was about 70 degrees and spring was bustin' out all over. Since then, nature has responded to the warm temperature even more.
Signs
One of the first signs of spring was the arrival of swans, geese and ducks to our fields just after mid-March. The combination of good eating on last year's corn ground and this spring's ponds have made our fields a major water fowl attraction. Their numbers have grown during the past two weeks from a few to several hundred. It's not unusual for flocks flying north to use our fields as a layover spot, but typically they arrive a few weeks later. A bonus this year is that the swans aren't flighty and swim close to the road so we are able get a good look at them.
Not only the swans, but also some of the leaves on our trees have arrived earlier than usual. Our lilacs, for example, have started to leaf out and other trees have buds ready to burst into leaves.
ADVERTISEMENT
Some of our spring bulbs, meanwhile, had popped out of the ground before the official arrival of the season and now our tulips about 6 inches high. That's comparable to the height they were in early May a year ago. Our day lilies also are a few inches high, more than a month before they peaked out from under old foliage last year. The arrival of spring in 2011, of course, was at the other end of the spectrum because temperatures stayed cold well into summer.
Dog days of spring
Another harbinger of spring -- which I'm less excited about -- is mud. Our yellow Labs, Maggie and Minnie are as excited about the water in our fields as the swans are and go swimming in them at every opportunity. They come back, their yellow coats, gray, and their paws caked with North Dakota mud. We put them in the outdoor kennel until they dry, then brush them so they can come into the house for a few hours later when we repeat the whole process.
We don't let Rosebud, my daughter, Ellen's gold retriever go swimming in the fields, buts she still manages to get her long, luxurious coat muddy by rolling around in the mud in our farmyard. She also has figured out how to get to water when we are taking her for walks and she is on her leash. She trots along the side of the road for a ways, and then starts sniffing and moving toward the ditch, usually a signal she has to go potty. But instead of taking a bathroom break, she lunges into the water that is lapping at the edge of the ditch, and then obediently returns to the road, tongue lolling and vigorously shaking the muddy water on the person at the end of her leash (usually Ellen or me).
Although, I don't appreciate being on the receiving end of doggy showers or constantly cleaning their coats, it's a price I have to pay from living on a farm with a high water table. I can't really fault the dogs, because they, like kids, are drawn to water like magnets and for them it's one of the best parts of spring.
Spring ahead
Whether the spring will continue moving forward pell-mell remains to be seen. It seems likely if the warm weather continues. However, it also wouldn't surprise me if there is an abrupt change and temperatures turn colder than normal. If that happens, Mother Nature could be in a stalling pattern for a while and, as a result, the spring bulbs won't bloom any earlier than normal, the leaves won't get any bigger for a while and the swans will stick around in our wet fields for a few more weeks.
Whatever happens, I'm glad that I had a chance to experience an on-time spring arrival.
