Late Winter or Early Spring?

Late winter, or for that matter early spring, in the Southern Appalachians has two faces. Some days are honey colored, soft, and carry the feeling of spring, that silken feeling on the skin of warm spring air. The next day, there's nothing between you and the North Pole but a barb wire fence. It can catch you out. You go out in the morning, and it is so sweet, birds singing, the sun giving everything a pre-spring glow, and by mid afternoon the skies have clouded over, a raw wind that seems to carry a straight razor has sprung up, and there is a fine snow spitting out of a leaden sky. You, of course, are in a short sleeve shirt, light trousers, and no hat. You really deserve it, though, if you are over 20; you should have seen it enough times to know. If I go out for the day at this time of year, I carry a warm coat with me just in case. Of course, I have seen this for over a half century.

The Creasy Greens are coming out, those famous greens that Mountaineers pick every winter. If you want to look them up, they are Barbarea verna or Barbarea vulgaris. My uncle called the former "Sweet Creases" and the latter "Boar Creases", the idea being that they were only fit for boars to eat. He actually called them something else, alluding to having unmarried parents, but this is, after all, a family blog, and Uncle Carl was rather free with Ancient Anglo Saxon Expletives. We won't go there.

Creases, called Early Yellow Rocket (B. verna) and Garden Yellow Rocket (B. vulgaris) on the USDA pages (http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=BAVU for Boar Creases) are a member of the Mustard family, and have the fiery mustard oil common to the family. Boar Creases have a bit more of the bitter oil, making them taste bad to some. In the words of Uncle Carl "Some folks like 'em. Them folks over on Sodom (Sodom Laurel Creek, Madison County NC) love 'em, but I cain't stand 'em". I have to agree with Uncle Carl; I cain't stand 'em neither.

Another cress that is coming out is the Bitter or Pepper Cress (Cardamine hirsuta). It is a tiny cress, and like Creases, is a winter annual, a plant that sprouts in the winter, makes a rosette of leaves, and in spring throws up a stem that bears the flowers, and finally seed pods. This one already has flowers, tiny white ones that are often hidden in the grass. Both these Mustards are introduced from Europe years ago, the settlers not knowing what native plants to eat, and have become a part of our flora and also our local culture.

A number of other small things are out now, including the Ivy Leaved Speedwell. It too is an introduction; seems that our locals are a little more timid. Wise, more likely; frost can happen here up to May 15, so they are probably very wise.

It is cold tonight, and will likely be freezing tomorrow. It will get warmer though. Spring is more a progression than a discrete date.

Bye now. Look for these winter annuals to see if you can find them in your neck of the woods.

Alex

Early Signs of Spring

I have heard and seen signs of Spring here the last few days. Jake the Fawn Pug, a good trail companion, and I were walking at the Asheville soccer fields on Azalea Road this week, and as we got to the far end we heard the bright sweet calls of the Spring Peepers. They, along with some other amphibians, produce an antifreeze in their body fluids, so there is no real fear that they will freeze to death when the cold returns. Oh, it will. It certainly will. Their mating assemblies can be hears on any rainy night and some wet days any time between early February and April as long as the temperatures are in the mid 50's or so.

We saw the bright blue flowers of Ivy Leaf Speedwell yesterday, like tiny fragments of Turquoise thrown on the lawn, so blue they sing to the sense of sight.

Yesterday morning, I woke to the short drumming of a Downy Woodpecker - hope they nest somewhere near.

I have heard the Song Sparrow too. Every one of them has a different song, and many of them have two or more songs, so listening to them is a joy. They have been all my life a sign Spring is coming. The sweet buzzing and trills are somehow comforting, joyful, relaxing, and just gives you a feeling of indescribable joy deep down inside. He holds territory all winter, but gets real poetic about now.

The Carolina Wren with his eardrum thumping song is also holding forth. If you are standing too close when he lets go, it can actually deafen you for a few seconds. He is LOUD! He too stays around all winter, but he and Mrs. Wren are starting to feel the effects of longer hours of sun light, swelling gonads, and rampant hormones. Just wait. They will be looking for a garage, utility building, mail box, hanging basket, or even a glove left outside to build a nest in and raise a brood. They don't need much.

These early warm spells are nothing new, and many critters take advantage. Wood Frogs have probably been out already. However, having been here half a century, I warn you;
Don't trust it. Spring is not really here until you can say with confidence that frost will not happen any more, and that is mid May. Really. Don't plant corn, and don't put indoor plants outside until then, or you'll lose them.

So though the signs are here, spring is still a ways off.

Get outside, folks, and look for the signs!