Nature Connection: Return Of The Light

The light is returning to our landscape and with it comes a reminder that spring isn’t very far off. A song sparrow sings in a rosa rugosa bush by the side of the road on my way to the beach. There’s still snow on the sand and ice in the marsh, but this little guy is beginning to feel a bit frisky and is already thinking about claiming his territory.

This has been a tough winter for our local birds but those that have survived are beginning to shake off the winter blues and celebrate a new season ahead. Red-winged blackbirds are due back in the next week or so, and our winter ducks are flirting up a storm before they head back north.

I love this time between winter and spring. It’s all about tossing off the old and welcoming the new and I need that reminder, as many of you may as well. Just as old, toxic thoughts have been given voice lately, so have the old shells and feathers been tossed around the beach. The latter will soon be sucked back into the sea or buried by sand and let’s hope the former are too. There’s no room for hate or intolerance. We need all that room to make way for the light and newly sprouted seeds of hope and helpfulness.

Perhaps your thoughts are turning toward gardening. I know mine are. It is a wonderful thing to imagine a garden full of flowers, bees and butterflies as well as tomatoes and herbs. As tempted as we may be to clean everything up though, let it rest a while longer.

At a recent talk at the APCC about gardening for wildlife by Mass Audubon Science Coordinator Mark Faherty, we were reminded that the best way to help our insect friends in the garden is to set aside part of our garden or yard to go wild. It is better to have a small area where the leaves and old grasses can stay all the year, than it is to leave some for a few months and then clean up for the season. Many larvae need more than just the month of March, so setting aside a wild area that remains untouched will do far more good.

In the meantime, let’s refrain from cleaning up too early. If we can set aside an area, perhaps move some of those garden leaves into that area instead of bagging them up. Don’t pile too high, and once you’ve set it, just leave it.

Maybe consider adding a native shrub or more pollinator-friendly plants to your yard this year. If rabbits and deer have challenged your good humor this winter, please remember they have been browsing your trees and bushes because they have been starving. This has been a very cold time with deep snow cover, a challenge for them as well as for us. It’s annoying to have them eat your roses but in the end, would you rather they starve? 

The rabbits are getting frisky, but so are the coyotes. Everything is feeling the urge to procreate and depending on where you live you may be hearing or seeing various signs of this. In the next few weeks, the temperature may continue to rise. When it hovers around 50 degrees for a few days, all sorts of things will begin to happen.

One of the most notable events of late winter or early spring is the massive move of amphibians – especially spotted salamanders and wood frogs – to vernal pools where they will mate in watery masses before returning to their solitary lives under logs and leaf litter. They especially like a warm rainy night and can be quite the sight to see.

For now, though, we can only dream of such things as the temperatures remain in the freezing range. Watch for sprouts of skunk cabbage as the snow melts and enjoy the beginning of snowdrop season. Both these may bloom before February is done.

Late winter is a good time to get out and enjoy our beaches and conservation areas before the busy seasons resume. Be careful out there, though. Accidents can happen on uneven ground and around iced-in areas. The tragedy that occurred at First Encounter Beach in Eastham last week was sudden and awful, and a reminder that we all need to be careful when out in the elements anytime, but especially as the season begins to change.

As it warms up, please be aware that our pets and even wild animals will not stop to consider the safety of the ice before attempting to cross a pond or stream. Keep them leashed for their safety and your own. Obviously, no one is leashing a coyote or deer, but we can hope they sense the changes in temperatures and stick to the shore now that the ice is melting.

It’s always a good idea to let someone know where you’re headed when you head out for a walk, whether in the woods or at the beach. Leave a note on a table, send a text, take your phone, especially if you are headed out alone. 

As I write, the sun is shining brightly, a cardinal pair is hopping about in the underbrush and two crows are watching the neighborhood from high in a tree. It isn’t hard to imagine that the blackbirds and our breeding robins are on their way back but for now, I’m going to go out and listen to the house finches and song sparrows testing their voices. 

Bring on the light! I’m ready.