Warm air and lots of rain fired up a lot of plant life over the past 10 days or so. Compare these photos of chives:
Chives on February 18, 2018 [Photo: Cathie Bird]
Same chives, February 26, 2018 [Photo: Cathie Bird]
And orange daylilies:
Daylilies on February 18, 2018 [Photo: Cathie Bird]
Same ones from the opposite side of their bed on February 26, 2018. [Photo: Cathie Bird]
No photos yet, but some of the red maples up here and around the neighborhood have flowers. I noticed this especially along Interstate 75 yesterday, and today on the south-facing slopes of Sexton Mountain. Some of the forsythia in the neighborhood are loaded with flowers; I'm guessing mine have about half a full load.
On my holler walk today, I spotted initial leaves of several orange jewelweed plants.
Activity among cardinals, Carolina wrens and eastern phoebes has jumped up a notch in the past week. Yesterday I saw a spring azure, the first of all the butterfly species I observe to make its holler appearance in 2018.
I will be watching everything carefully for the next week or so as freezing night temperatures return.
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