Terry made it home safely from South Carolina late Thursday evening arriving at the Aerie at 8:30 PM. She drove straight through and reports that she didn't see any snow until she reached Williamsport. She was thoroughly spoiled by the 70 degree days in Columbia.
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The sun has been shining since noon on Thursday. It's a welcome sight after the dreary, snowy days earlier in the week. In fact, we've nothing but clear, cloudless skies.
Of course, there's a down side as well. Those clear skies are the product of an absolutely arctic air mass that has caused the temperature to plunge into the "oh my God it's cold!" range. This morning it was just 10 degrees outside at 7 AM. Daytime highs haven't gotten much above 35 degrees either. (The average highs are supposed to be around 50 degrees this time of year.)
While the sun has caused some melting where the snow has been thinned by plowing, the stuff on the lawn and in the woods has simply become ice encrusted. Mud season is on hold--or at least limited to the afternoon hours when the sun has managed to melt a wee bit of the snow along the edge of the road.
The cold and the snow cover, as you might surmise, has forced the birds to once again rely upon my largess. The common redpolls continue to hang around, perhaps instinctively fearing even colder and more sparse food supplies to the north.
The robin I saw eating a worm on the lawn last Tuesday evening is probably hunkered down somewhere mumbling about the sudden turn of events that has put his amorous activities on hold. And as for the poor Phoebe ai saw eating flies on Sunday? I hope he can find takeout somewhere.
I've seen a song sparrow or two in the yard under the feeders picking up seed tossed about by the redpolls, chickadees, and super sloppy eating blue jays and squirrels.
I'm still waiting for the goldfinches to return. They are usually wintertime visitors and have been mixed with the redpolls. Last year, when the redpolls didn't show, they were our primary visitors all winter long. I was able to judge the approach of spring by the shifting color of the goldies. This year? Nada. Zip. We haven't seen a goldie since Thanksgiving.
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I noted the swelling of leaf buds on the aspen trees on the hill in front of the Aerie and the appearance of catkins on the birch trees this morning. I can see wet spots on the maples where the activities of woodpeckers or the rubbing of branches have caused a leakage of sap. This is the second weekend of the maple syrup open houses throughout Tioga and Potter counties and, for once, the producers have things timed things perfectly. The super cold nights and somewhat warm days must have the sap running like the streams during spring thaw. The longer the cold nights last, the happier they (the syrup crowd) will be.
Me? I'd as soon we get on with the business of Spring but these things can not be forced. The sun--and cold--will be with us until at least Wednesday when there's a slight chance of some snow flurries. Then, as we turn the calendar page to April on Friday, there's a prediction of slightly warmer weather and rain/snow showers for a a few days. Figures, New York's trout season opens on Friday as does the season in a dozen PA counties to the southeast part of the state. (The rest of Pennsylvania doesn't start trout season until the 16th.)
Until then, I'll enjoy the sun while pondering where the heck MY global warming is.
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