North country Spring

Winter-stark outlines of tree crowns continue to soften and fill in as budburst and leaf-out continue. Grass blades and day lily leafs emerge more and more from ground that was snow-covered and frozen weeks ago. North of us, near Ely, fresh snow is causing high school sports' events to reschedule to later, hopefully warmer and sunnier, days in May.

tom turkey displaying in Spring

Photo by J. Harrington

Local streams are still running bankfull and a bit more. This morning we noticed a wild tom turkey displaying as he strutted his way through our sand plain fields. Spring developments proceed at their own pace, not by our calendar.

We well remember the times, years ago, when we were chased from Spring turkey hunting trips to South Dakota by blizzards that made camping and hunting just plain miserable. The National Phenology Network notes that:

In the east, spring leaf out is 1-2 weeks early in the upper Southeast, and 1-2 weeks late across the Great Plains, southern Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Spring leaf out is four days late in Missoula, MT and Minneapolis, MN.

We admit, to our shame, we don't usually pay enough attention to notice a four day late arrival, but when it starts to approach a week or so, that gets our attention, although, with the normal variability of phenology events around here, "normal" becomes hard to judge. As we've noted several times before, Minnesota would be a much more enjoyable place to live, work and play if the averages of temperatures and precipitation etc. weren't comprised of quite a few extremes.

Spring

In the north country now it is spring and there
Is a certain celebration. The thrush
Has come home. He is shy and likes the
Evening best, also the hour just before
Morning; in that blue and gritty light he
Climbs to his branch, or smoothly
Sails there. It is okay to know only
One song if it is this one. Hear it
Rise and fall; the very elements of you should
Shiver nicely. What would spring be
Without it? Mostly frogs. But don’t worry, he

Arrives, year after year, humble and obedient
And gorgeous. You listen and you know
You could live a better life than you do, be
Softer, kinder. And maybe this year you will
Be able to do it. Hear how his voice
Rises and falls. There is no way to be
Sufficiently grateful for the gifts we are
Given, no way to speak the Lord’s name
Often enough, though we do try, and

Especially now, as that dappled breast
Breathes in the pines and heaven’s
Windows in the north country,
Now spring has come,
Are opened wide.

Mary Oliver

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