February 23, 2025

One more week to go in February.  Has this winter ever seemed LOOOONNNG!  I want Spring so much.  This past week I had to miss my flute lesson because it was too cold to walk to where they have the lessons.  I've learned my lesson about walking and breathing in that kind of temperatures!  It is probably a bad idea to get so hung up on the imminent arrival of Spring, but who can blame a person?  I hear this winter has been a hard one most everywhere in the States.  For instance, a friend in Texas says it was only 21F this week there. Here was our Pond on February 18.  

The little Thistle seedlings are still getting stronger.  Some of them now have Three leaves in addition to the original two.  (The third new leaf  is sort of fuzzy and whitish, but it is a real third little fellow!  I just ordered a packet of seeds for a species of Thistle that is more similar to the kind that was blooming in the yard a couple of years ago (Bull Thistles).  I am again eager to watch the Keeled Treehoppers adopt one of these kinds of Thistle as a home cum nursery in the summer. 

Here is the bright blue sky on February 21.  But don't let it fool you - it is still COLD!

Why do tiny Loopers love those big bolts so much?  They just go round and round...

Here is that mystery "Leafhopper" that we saw before, only a few shades lighter.  Next, the formerly guessed "Mantis eggcase", on the Wall in the same place as it's been for weeks now.  In picture 3, you see a TINY green thing that may be a nymph of something.  Let's see if it manages to stay in the crosshairs.

This morning at 7 am the outdoor thermometer in the upstairs bathroom window was saying 30F.  And the internet was projecting nicer temps for the coming week.  Let's use our imaginations to predict what is coming SOON.  Here is an old photo from a past summer, showing five Green Frogs.  This is a scene that fills my heart with glee and love.  I think one could say (indeed it has been said often) that we can see the health of our ecosystem by such things as the image of five Frogs on a summer day (July 2023).  

Oh my!  Here is a picture I found from February 25, 2024.  That is LAST YEAR about now.  It shows a couple of tiny crocuses emerging from the ground!  So look, folks, keep your eyes out now in YOUR garden to see if any such things exist out there.  Since it has been so very cold this year, we may have to look a bit longer but surely that scene will play out again VERY SOON!   

So, my dear friends, if you happen to have some pictures implying that Spring is here (or maybe only NEAR), and if you would like to share some of them with your fellow bloggers, send me your best and I'll give you a plug on here.  Thanks!  I think for now it is time to say Happy [precursor to] Spring!  Love, Martha