Looking at the calendar and out the window, we can see that spring is here. We were fortunate that heavier rain didn’t materialize as we rapidly shifted from February’s severe winter weather to the current March thaw. Living at the bottom of a hill with so much drifted snow around my house and above me on the watershed, I must confess that I was more than a little nervous. The biggest snow piles may be with us for several weeks yet, but I was amazed at how rapidly the snow disappeared from fields. Flocks of horned larks that hugged the rural road shoulders to find an occasional weed seed have dispersed across the newly open fields. Pheasant flocks that struggled to scratch through a foot or more of snow can now feed freely on waste grain again. Surviving hens will be making up for lost time since they need to gain significant weight before their bodies can make a dozen or more eggs and survive the stress of nearly a month of incubation. Robins have returned! And red-winged blackbirds, too. Male cardinals spent the winter ignoring females and even refused to share a feeder – but no more! They’re singing their hearts out for those females. The feeders that once were emptied within a few hours of filling are now sitting full and basically ignored. Waterfowl are definitely on the move. They love the extensive ponds of shallow water that dot the countryside. Sun warms the mud bottom rapidly and can generate swarms of tiny plankton organisms in healthy wetlands. Ducks, in particular, depend on these as a rich source of animal protein and fat to fuel their migration and prepare their bodies for egg laying and incubation. Years of pesticide application have reduced the ability of some temporary ponds on cultivated land to support the flush of plankton, though. Some species of ducks, like lesser scaup, were once very common, but have suffered large population losses in recent decades because they can’t find enough of that kind of food during their migration. Wintering eagles will be moving north with the waterfowl. We’re not going to lose all of our eagles, though. Several pairs of eagles appear to have established nesting territories in Grundy County. Their success continues to amaze me. As an “oldtimer” I think how rare they were not so many years ago. The buds are beginning to swell now. I had hoped to do more tree pruning during the winter, but it’s too late to start most of that work, now. Sap is flowing hard on sunny days as it transfers nutrients to buds. New pruning cuts at this time of year can “bleed” heavily. Although the loss of sap isn’t usually a big problem for a tree, warming weather and a moist open wound can increase the chances of insect and fungal attacks. Apples are an exception. Late winter or early spring pruning tends to reduce the production of fast growing water sprouts that bear no fruit. My backyard rabbits will appreciate the tender bark from branches that I still plan to remove and place in a corner brushpile. I worried about too much – too soon as spring warmth was concerned, but now that it appears to be here I hope it stays for awhile. It’s time to put the ice fishing gear away, that sport is finished now. But I’ll keep the snow thrower fueled up for a while longer. The decorative runner sled hasn’t been put away yet or the larger snowflake on the side of the house either. My wife says these need to be stored away. Now, if those gravel roads would shape up – everyone looks forward to that!