And suddenly, this dark blue norther came blustering in, and within an hour the bottom had fallen out of every thermometer in Washington and Fayette counties. I expect if we'd looked up at the sky we'd have seen flights of wild geese turning around and going back south, but we were too busy digging in dresser drawers, looking for long underwear and blankets. Plants nipped in the bud Next morning all our tomato plants looked like servings of boiled spinach, lying on the ground in neat rows. This is why I have little confidence in early signs of spring. I'm willing to wait and have spring in April.
Birds seem convinced, though.
Another great flight of geese just passed over, and our bluebirds are back, checking out their nesting boxes that I haven't even cleaned out yet. They didn't nest here the spring of 2000, I suppose because of the drought, and I'm pleased to hear their soft calls again. We specialize here in jaybirds and buzzards. Always plenty of those, year round. But we're thankful to have cardinals, too.