The Calendar Says it’s Spring

LEBANON, OH -- It’s late March. I haven’t had to run the snow blower in several weeks. I see buds opening on the maple trees, and the Weeping Willows are sporting new green leaves. Daffodils and forsythia are blooming. Honeysuckle is leafing out. Ground cover is turning from brown to green in the woodlands. And the lawn looks like it may need to be mowed in a week or so.

With all these encouraging signs I’m ready to put winter in the rear-view mirror and come out of hibernation. 

Yesterday, I took my first hike of the year to see if there were other heartening signs of Spring appearing. Nothing too strenuous. Just an easy one hour outing on the Little Miami Bike Trail upstream of the old Peters Cartridge Factory.

Pete's Cartridge Factory

Mother Nature was very reassuring. The birds were in full voice welcoming the warmth, sunshine, and gentle breeze. Squirrels were moving about, and I saw three deer which had not yet shed their drab winter coats for their cooler summer attire. They looked a bit bedraggled and in need of something more substantial to eat than the twigs they had to browse on since the beginning of winter.

Wildflowers were beginning to bloom on both sides of the trail. 

Speedwell

I saw Speedwell, Purple Cress, Spring Beauty, Lesser Celandine, Bittercress, and Harbinger of Spring. 

Lesser Celandine

Over the next few weeks Bloodroot, Hepatica, Trout-lily, and a host of other spring ephemerals will appear. Now is the time to get out to see them because they begin to fade as soon as the tree leaf canopy shades them out. 

Warren County has numerous parks with hiking trails that offer showy signs of Spring. Try to take advantage of a free moment to venture out and observe the seasonal awakening of Mother Nature.

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