A Soringtime Soliloquy  

I seem to be forming a pattern of writing up seasonal musings for this newsletter. Rabbit actually asked me for this one. Since A Woman’s Angle is a quarterly publication, and deadlines are necessarily some time in advance of the publication date, I find myself writing this springtime piece on February 18. 

We’ve been blessed with a fair amount of mild weather so far this winter. But it’s cold and windy today, and forecast to be even colder tomorrow. Sitting down at my computer and thinking about what the weather might be like when you are reading this in early-April is really quite a pleasant prospect. 

Now is just about the time each winter when my cabin fever intensifies and I start looking for “signs of spring.” They are not hard to find, even this early, if you know what to look for. Maple leaf buds are among the first signs, particularly on Swamp Maples, and they begin to swell as soon as the sap begins to rise. This is a function of temperature but also of day length and begins as soon after the winter solstice as the ground is thawed, in our area typically in mid to late-February. You have to look carefully at first, but soon the maple buds are very obvious. Wooded hillsides, from a distance, start to have a softer, pinkish look to them. 

Another good sign to look for in swampy areas along streams is Skunk Cabbage. This plant sends up its flowers quite early, long before the large, leathery green leaves appear. The flower consists of a mottled reddish hood with a greenish-white flower stalk inside, and looks a kind of like a Jack-in-the Pulpit, to which it is related. If there is still snow on the ground, you’ll find a bare circle around each plant; they actually generate heat to melt the snow and attract pollinating insects. And yes, there are insects out in late winter, those hardy ones who are adapted to fill a few unique habitat niches. 

It seems like one day I’m straining to see any sign of spring, and the next day there are more than I can count. Cultivated plants provide far more obvious and showy signs of spring’s approach. One of the earliest is a yellow-flowering cultivar of the Witch Hazel shrub called “Arnold Promise.” From a distance they resemble the familiar and much later-blooming Forsythia. I saw my first one of the year just today, in the park down the street from my house. Soon the pretty yellow cups of Winter Aconite, and the graceful, pendulous flowers of Snowdrops and Snowflakes will appear in my yard.

By early April, when you are reading this, springtime should be well under way. April weather can be unsettled, though, and sometimes winter does not yield without a fight. I will never forget my drive north to Potter County one year during the third week of April. There were still thick chunks of ice beside the road, along north-facing exposures, and I drove through sleet and snow flurries. All the way up the Pine Creek Valley, a week after Opening Day of Trout Season, there was no one fishing. I saw only two forlorn groups of bait fishermen standing near their vehicles. I wore my heavy woolen Filson Double Mackinaw Cruiser coat, and it felt good! The streams were running high and cold, and the fishing was slow all week.

But even in a tough year, once April is here winter is on the ropes and soon to throw in the towel. By mid-month there will be hatches of Hendricksons and caddis, and eagerly rising trout. I can hardly wait!

 --Mary S. Kuss--
Spring 2006 Issue