Definitely Spring...

[Jim Becker]

Spring has got to be here for sure, now... "Froggie" has emerged in our fountain/pond from his winter slumber and has had two days straight of great sunbathing weather!

[David Fried]

Yup, went to clean out the chicken coop the other day and found 10 eggs! The weather chicken is never wrong, it's spring!

[Mike Cutler]

Crocus's are opening, the Spring Peepers are out, and the Osprey are back. Stick a fork in it boys, it's all over....hopefully.

[Joe Mioux]

Jim, Spring has sprung in southern Illinois. The crocus (corcusi la pl) are done blooming, daffodils are glorious, and the tulips are making themselves known. The rabbits are starting to hop, the moles are doing their thing:mad: , the chipmunks are moving -- and the cat is doing her thing to the chipmunks:) , but the snakes are not yet here (garter).:cool:


However, if your really want to see Spring, I need to post a couple pics of the greenhouse.:)

Joe

[Tim Morton]

Had my first BBQ last night and didn't have to shovel a path...thats always a sign of spring. Now have 3 weeks of mud season and then we can enjoy our spring.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Tim, Don't ya love shoveling a path to the grill?? :) It is nice to BBQ without snow on the ground!

[Mark Singer]

Maybe froggie wants to meet "Eric" the lizard..I posted him a week or so ago:confused:

[Jim Becker]

Froggie just likes to be left alone...so far, the fish have not been able to teach him that Dr. SWMBO and I are "good guys"...and his benefactor. After all, he could be living in some anonymous puddle somewhere instead of his modern, luxury accommodations with free rent and "professional" landscaping!

[Bill Lewis]

We had to move 4 toads to the front yard the other night, before the doggies got to them. They're everywhere!!

[Karl Laustrup]

Yes, spring is here. M & M duck have made their return to feast on the bird seed that is sprayed all over by the Blue Jays and those stinking Starlings. Wish there was some way to get rid of those rotten birds [the Starlings, not the Jays].

Got my Oriole and Hum bird feeders up yesterday as I thought I saw a Hummer looking for a drink early yesterday. Hopefully the Orioles will show up in the next couple of weeks. Love watching them and the Hummers drink.

There is a lot of competition for the bird seed now. Deer, possums, coons, skunk, M & M duck and who knows what all visit to feast. People now stop on the street in front to look at the deer as they feed.

Of course we have one or two Red Tailed Hawks that stop by also. One landed on the railing just outside the door one day. Couldn't have been more than 6' away. Awesome. They must think this is the equivilent of Micky D's or KFC. Fast food. :)

[Jim Becker]

Karl, we always have red-tails around and there was a juvinal here the other day. (Bad pic below) Beautiful birds.

Starlings can be pigs, but thats about the only problem we have with them. Fun to watch and they are acutally quite high on the intellegence scale. House sparrows are what we watch out for, however...they invade out blue bird boxes and can be very nasty about it.

We haven't seen any hummingbirds yet, but are putting out our feeders today since they have been reported in the area.

[Karl Laustrup]

Not too bad on the pic, Jim. I've been trying to get a pic of the ones we have visit. We have a young one and one that is huge. Forgot to mention we also have a Pilated Woodpecker who visits occasionally. Huge bird and looks just like Woody Woodpecker.

Also forgot to mention those little critters shown in the pic below. They've been pretty good so far this spring in not getting up on the feeders. They've just been eating from the ground, but I am ever vigilant with my paint ball gun.

[Jim Becker]

LOL! That's funny, Karl.

The pic wasn't very good, 'cause I had the "big" zoom lense on and cranked all the way...without a tripod. 'Just the window to brace against. At that distance, it's very hard to get a good shot without a tripod being involved. It was in the shop and if I went out to get it, the bird would have been spooked, even though it was 200' away. The shot is effectively a 450mm shot if this had been a 35mm camera. "Bouncy-bouncy!!"

Laura Erickson (a bird authority) recently posted pics of a pileated woodpecker (named Gepetto) that she rescued as a baby. They were taken while she and her kids were releasing it after weaning. (She's licensed to do rescue/rehab) You can see two pictures at these links:

http://www.lauraerickson.com/graphics/Family/TomGepetto1.jpg (http://www.lauraerickson.com/graphics/Family/TomGepetto1.jpg)
http://www.lauraerickson.com/graphics/Family/KatieGepetto1.jpg (http://www.lauraerickson.com/graphics/Family/KatieGepetto1.jpg)

It's rare to even catch a glimps of these big woodpeckers as they are very wary birds. That's why these pics are so special...

[Fred Voorhees]

Does all of this info mean that I can actually put away my snowblower for the season??? Jeez, I hope so!

[Jim Becker]

Does all of this info mean that I can actually put away my snowblower for the season??? Jeez, I hope so!

Yea, but NOT the boat... ;)

[Karl Laustrup]

Does all of this info mean that I can actually put away my snowblower for the season??? Jeez, I hope so!

I don't know Fred, I think I'd keep it handy. I've taken the snow thrower off the JD, but it can go back on in about 10 minutes. We always seem to get a snow storm around mid April. Last year, or year before maybe, we had about 6 inches on the 19th of April. Only good thing was it was gone in a couple of days.

I'm not real sure until mid May.

[Karl Laustrup]

Great pics of the woodpecker. I think the one that visits here is a little bigger than the one in the pics.

I've been trying to get a pic of the one that visits us. I think he lives over on the golf course as I've heard him and seen him there also. One day I'll get his pic and I'll be sure and post it.

[David Klug]

No doubt about it, spring is here. Our mourning doves are back. They like to biuld a nest in one of loveys flower pots that she has hanging from our patio roof. It's suprising how tame they are because when the weather is nice we eat out on the patio within a few feet of them and they just sit there, cooing and watching us. We've had them for about 5 yrs. now and it's neat to watch them hatch the little ones and see them get ready to take off.

DK

[John Weber]

Well I don't know about animals or flowers, but the surest sign on Spring is the hum of the power vent above the shop. It kicks on at around 90 in the attic, and yesterday, just after noon... the sweet sounds of Spring. Acutally, I kind of like the quite hum while out side.

John

[Jim Becker]

No doubt about it, spring is here. Our mourning doves are back.

Ours never leave! They are year-round residents and appreciate the culinary opportunities we provide...

[Wes Bischel]

Yep, spring is here - eyes watery, nose runny, throat itchey - sure signs of spring in PA! :rolleyes: :eek:

Wes

[Jim Becker]

Yep, spring is here - eyes watery, nose runny, throat itchey - sure signs of spring in PA!

My Alegra takes care of that, but another sign of spring is my bleeding hands from getting the mower deck ready for the "first cut" next weekend...'had to install a new belt and things, umm...snapped back on me once while trying to engage the very heavy idler tensioning spring. Sheesh!!

[Jeremy Gibson]

What's spring!? I'm getting 24" - 36" of snow today and through tomorrow AM.

[Fred Voorhees]

I don't know Fred, I think I'd keep it handy. I've taken the snow thrower off the JD, but it can go back on in about 10 minutes. We always seem to get a snow storm around mid April. Last year, or year before maybe, we had about 6 inches on the 19th of April. Only good thing was it was gone in a couple of days.

I'm not real sure until mid May.

Ok - Ok, I'll wait a little bit longer. But dang it - I went ahead and turned off the pilot light on my propane fireplace in the new bar room today. Don't really see a need for that any more and if I need it, I can have the fireplace back up to speed in about five minutes.