Still Waiting

Not much seems to be happening on the pond as far as the Ice-Out flag going down. Diane sent these photos this morning - everything looks pert and steady. We are in for another very nice day today, although it won't be quite as warm as Thursday or Friday. Still, the snow is melting and so is the ice. I heard from Bob Mackay last night that his ice fishing is finished for this season. No surprise there - I'm sure the ice is very soft and completely unsafe - if accessible at all without a boat. There is water showing around the shoreline nearly everywhere, and the first two ponds are pretty much free of ice. We are expecting rain on Monday and Tuesday, but also some snow showers on Tuesday. That isn't at all unusual - and there will probably be some nights when the temperature will drop below freezing, but the water in the pond is warming up, so that block and flag isn't going to hang out there much longer.

We've had wonderful weather for working outside, and today will be one more of the same. Tomorrow the weather turns cold and wet. I installed solar lights on the posts along my stone steps at the front of my house yesterday. I have waited all winter to put them out there. The posts were covered with snow less than two weeks ago. Now I need to rake the leaves away and neaten things up.

Like lots of others this year, I'm still fighting with little red ladybugs everywhere. This was a super-good year for them, apparently. I've had a few in the house most of the winter, and I keep finding them. I don't kill them - they are evil smelling little creatures if you injure or kill them! All winter I've dumped them outside, so I suppose they either scurried back through some tiny crack in the house or found another warm place to wait for the next opportunity to get inside. I've read that they feast on aphids, so they are not necessarily a bad bug. It's just that I don't want to live with them. They love my screened porch. I spent half an hour or so out there this morning, brushing them off the ceiling with a broom and scooping them into the cracks between the flooring so they fall down onto the ground. A few minutes ago I was out there and the screens are littered with them again. I don't think spraying does much to control them, and I don't like using insect spray unless I absolutely have to. I don't know their life span

My pond is completely open now, and water is running in full tilt - and out the overflow pipe. It's nice to have it all working well. A goose visited early this morning - but only one, and it didn't stay long. I listened for frogs last night, but so far, nothing. Maybe tonight.

Now I'm going to go outside to work for a little while, and then I have work to do here in my office. It's such a nice day, it's hard to stay inside or off the porch, but I have to work outside when my back is well rested and I have energy - which doesn't always last very long anymore; then I will do the necessary stuff in my office. Perhaps a nap in the sun on the porch after lunch! It's very pleasant there, and the birds are very vocal. I'm hearing robins, flickers, crows, song sparrows, and one day last week a cardinal. This morning there was a woodpecker drumming on a tree up in the woods. Spring is a busy time for birds, and a big, fat goose stopped on my pond early this morning. It didn't stay long - probably not enough vegetation for a suitable breakfast! They will eat frogs or small fish, if there is nothing else, but as yet my pond has none of those. I'm happy the goose moved on.

I noticed yesterday that I have daffodils coming in one of my gardens where the snow just melted away. They are well up and on the way to blooming! I was surprised. They must have been happily growing under all that snow, getting plenty of moisture and protection from the cold wind. My forsythia is nearly ready to show color, too, and the lilac bushes are showing buds. My peonies are up and flourishing. Spring is definitely here!

At the moment, there are crows making a racket out near my pond - apparently there is an intruder of some sort, possibly a hawk, threatening them. There is a large community defending their territory, very loudly! I can hear robins and flickers screaming at whatever is is, too. Quite a rumpus.