Spring Never Fails To Arrive

American Robin perching in the maple tree in the Spring haze today.

Close-up of an American Robin's breast.


A weekend of Spring showing us it will arrive in spite of a tough winter and world events.

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For anyone who went outside, there was the constant honking of migrating geese. This show never fails to make me stop what I'm doing and watch as they head north on their Spring trip.

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Saw my first robin of the year in the field Sunday morning. Big old fat male hunting and pecking at the wet ground.

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We're experiencing a week of above freezing temperatures and rain. Although gray and foggy, it is washing the snow and ice away and cleaning things.

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According to Jeff Lempe of the Peoria Journal Star, happenings in Midwest Illinois:
Opossums, coyotes, flying squirrels, muskrats, chorus frogs, skunks, wild turkeys, raccoons, minks, turkey vultures and ruffed grouse start breeding. No wonder they call Spring the season of love...
Chipmunks end hibernation, resident Canada geese nest, prairie chickens start booming, pheasants start crowing, wood ducks return and nest, great horned owls eggs hatch, rabbits bear first litter, quail coveys break up, eagles are incubating eggs on the Illinois River banks and pheasants establish crowing territories.
Turkey vultures, bluebirds, doves. wood ducks, and other ducks return. Sand hill cranes migrate overhead going North.
With all this action, it's a wonder we don't step on something every time we go outside.

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Many folks have noticed spring flowers peaking up through the soil as the snow melts from their flower beds. I checked my records and I had crocus blooming on March 15 of last year. I also noted that we had snow on Easter (23rd) in 2008 and four inches on top of ice over March 28-29, 2009.

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I've been officially keeping a garden journal for the past few years. Actually, kept the information for several years but put my book together recently. For a person who enjoys the "organization of data", it's been fun.

Although I enjoy computer stored spreadsheets, a garden journal had to be "hands on" for me to enjoy. It's a small inexpensive book. I've divided the pages into the twelve months plus a section for "yearly" and another for "other". For people who MUST organize, an office supply store is Christmas morning every time I step in the door. So difficult to focus on what and why I entered in the first place. This is where I picked up the little plastic tabs I used for the categories.

Once the book is organized, it is quick and easy to add information as it comes my way. Both from my own gardens and experiences and from a more global nature. Recently I added historical earthquake data for our area.

Some things that appear in my garden journal:

Dates of the spring equinox, winter solstices, the many wonderful nature facts provided by Jeff Lempe, weather data by averages, historical, and yearly events , "My Garden" by month/year, and other odd things that appeal to my fancy.

Some things I don't use in my journal but might appeal to you:

A formal Garden Journal that's organized for you. Add photos, or do it more like a scrapbook with drawings and decorations, use as a place to keep seed packets or other plant specific details such as when things are planted. Include poems or stories that you enjoy. It could be plant specific as if you were just a hosta or daylily lover.

Sometimes I only have time to throw a clipping in the book and then take time later to document. Entering the data is a good winter project.

If you're the organizing kind, I hope this has inspired you to take up a Garden Journal.

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“I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would greet it in a garden.”
Ruth Stout