First Signs of Spring - Going Fast

My year has started out wrong and I don’t know what to do to fix it.  I spend the winter in anticipation of spring.  There are certain signs I look for that indicate spring is not far away and I feel energized each time one occurs.  My problem is that so many of my signs of spring have already been realized.  Salamander Breeding is always the first, but that happened back in December before winter really got started.  Next comes the Woodcock mating display, which is normally a February event.  I’ve had a Woodcock displaying since November and there are currently at least two males calling and spiraling in the field behind the house.  Now the turkeys have jumped ahead of the Spring Peepers and claimed the number three slot for signs of spring 2012.

Wild Turkey displays are typically an early March event.  I heard my first turkey gobble come from the woods on New Years Day.  They’ve been heard a few times since then and now they’ve come into the yard to show me that they weren’t just letting loose with a few stray gobbles.  The Toms are displaying with full vigor.  They’re going to be some mighty tired birds by the time the breeding season ends.

This looks like the scene of a sit-com.  The gents, dressed in their finest suits with matching red bowties, are falling over each other in their attempts to impress the lady.  “Hey Baby.  Hey Baby.”  She doesn’t look at all impressed.

Between displays, the Toms forage along with the hens.

But they’re all alert to the possibility that a hen might be receptive to renewed courtship activities.  If the Peepers start calling, I’ll just have to concede that spring has truly arrived.  Maybe I should start planting my garden.

First Day of Spring - What's Left

I’ve shown what I found in the prairies and woods on my first day of spring walk, so now we’ll see what’s left in those areas that aren’t prairies or woods. On the barrens, the Leavenworthia uniflora, one of the uncommon winter annuals, is preparing to bloom. This plant is less than three quarters of an inch across and has been buried by snow, beat by heavy rains and suffered some gnawing on the leaves. The plant will hurriedly bloom and produce seeds before the barrens become too hot and dry for its survival.

Here’s the skull of a Ground Hog that didn’t quite make it to hibernation. I often see Ground Hogs doing things that seem contrary to a well developed survival instinct and I wonder how any survive at all. Like other rodents, they seem to take advantage of every opportunity and increase their numbers at a rapid rate.

Multiflora Rose is beginning to leaf out. The pale green shoots are easy to see this time of year and remind me that I still have several more bushes to eliminate.

Japanese Honeysuckle is also producing new growth. It’s common for many invasive plant species to grow during times of native plant inactivity. Early spring growth allows invasive plants to shade the natives and gain a competitive advantage.

The Hazelnut catkins are nearly mature and will soon be dropping pollen.

This Wild Black Cherry seems to be having a rough time of it. Growth deformities and oozing sap have made this a rather unattractive specimen. There were no insects attracted to the sap, so the taste must not be as appealing as that of the Sugar Maple.

I wonder if this is the kind of sap that could one day become amber. The color makes it pretty in an ugly sort of way.

I suppose you saw it anyway, but I just had to point it out. Who wouldn’t agree that this sap has the face of a bear? The only reason I see faces in everything, is because there are faces in everything.

First Day of Spring - Woods

Except for the lack of snow, the woods aren’t showing much sign of progressing into spring. There’s still plenty of opportunity to view the trees before the leaves get in the way.

The blanket of fallen leaves is still unbroken by emerging wildflowers. The leaves provide good insulation and the ground beneath is still quite cold.

These leaves are the food supply for a vast number of woodland organisms. Leaves that covered the ground last spring have all been consumed and the nutrients passed back into the soil. Decomposition of the leaves is quite slow during the winter, but once things warm up, the leaves will begin to disappear quite rapidly.

In another month the leaves will close off this view. The leaves will also provide shade and soundproofing, so this will develop into a cool, quiet place this summer. If this picture could show sound, you would notice the three most common sounds of the country; gunshots, 4 wheelers and chainsaws. Chainsaw noise is becoming less frequent, probably because it is a sound associated with work.

A few Crows hurried over while I was sitting on a log. From the sound coming out of the cedars on the next ridge, I’d say these guys are late for a mobbing. Some poor owl or hawk is getting the full attention of every Crow within hearing distance.

Signs of displaying turkeys are showing up in the leaf litter. Part of the male turkey’s display is dropping and vibrating the wings while making a short run in front of the female. The dragging wing tips scoot the leaves into short windrows.

I found one area with a lot of fallen Post Oak leaves. I’ve only found one Post Oak on the property and these leaves were nowhere near that tree. I know that leaves can carry a long way in the wind, but it’s unlikely that these came from the tree I know about. Unless they blew a long way from a neighboring property, I suspect I have another Post Oak somewhere near. I’ll have to keep an eye out for it.

I have a walking trail that crosses the creek in the shallow area just down from the exposed tree roots. Some parts of the trail system have bridges, but other parts require brief contact with creek water. It’s funny to watch people’s expressions change when they realize they may have to get a damp foot. If this was an amusement park, this is where I would situate a camera to produce souvenir photos of the creek crossing adventure.

First Day of Spring - Prairies

I spent part of the first day of spring just looking around to see how things came through the winter. The mowed fields looked good and it won’t be long before I’m out spraying sprouts from the cut shrubs marked by the red flags. The fields are beginning to take on a green coloration.

Unfortunately, the green comes from Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue, a non-native grass planted extensively by farmers throughout Southern Ohio. These mowed fields have the most recent history of use as standard crop and pasture fields. Fescue was planted as part of the normal cropping rotation and both the plants and seeds persist. It will be a long time before this exotic grass is eliminated.

The older prairies have very little fescue left in the stand. Much of the tall grass in this field managed to stay upright through the winter.

In other areas, the heavy snows flattened everything to the ground. This particular prairie is surrounded by trees and the snow fell unaffected by the wind. In more open areas, the grass was constantly moved by the wind and the snow was knocked off before it could build up a heavy layer. In this spot, the snow settled evenly over all the grass and all the stems laid down as one unit.

This area of short grass produced very few seed stalks and the leaf growth was stout enough to remain standing despite the covering of snow.

I found a couple stalks of Switch Grass in one of the prairies. Switch Grass is considered to be an Ohio native, but it’s uncommon to find it in this area outside of planted stands. I’m just a little bit apprehensive about accepting this as a naturally occurring species at Blue Jay Barrens.

The ants are busily repairing the mangled ant mound. The ravaged areas are beginning to take on a smoothness that suggests it won’t be long until this mound regains a more natural shape.

Despite the xeric nature of the area, wet weather seeps are not uncommon. The clay subsoil will trap small surface pools that can persist on into May or June. Some of the more productive of these seeps may create a small oasis in the middle of the otherwise dry prairies.

During the years just prior to my buying the property, the previous owner had thoughts of subdividing the land. This pipe, driven deep into the center of a Blue Jay Barrens prairie, marks one of the proposed corners of that subdivision. Had they proceeded with the subdivision, I would most likely never have been interested in buying here and Blue Jay Barrens would never have existed. I leave the pipe as a reminder of how close we came to losing this unique property.