I can smell soil and dry leaves, silt and old grass. The scent of firewood is also a springtime sensation. As we cut wood for trapping cabins and our main home, I enjoy the rich odor of dry spruce and the light, slightly sweet scent of split green birch. And if that potpourri of delicious odors isn't enough, I can shut my eyes and nose and concentrate on my ears. What a change from winter, when the long silence is broken only by the wind, the crack of a frozen tree, or the distant song of wolves.
Spring sounds start with the drip and ripple of melting water and the low whump of settling snow.
As rivers and swamps begin to open up, I listen for the cackling of geese and the clear, calm honk of trumpeter swans, to be followed later by ducks, cranes, and squalling gulls. Great flocks of birds land on the exposed mud and grass, only to spring into panicked flight, raising their voices in alarm, when a bald eagle drifts on spread wings overhead. Soon the squawk of gray jays is interrupted by the chirrup of robins and the staccato of juncos, followed by one of my favorites, the pure trill of varied thrushes. Later, other warblers, sparrows and thrushes join the chorus. The slowly-greening woods are alive with bustling birds just as the grassy flats teem with waterfowl as they all search for food, mates, territory and nesting sites.