The Sound of Spring

 

Spring really begins for me when I hear this bird sing, and that’s happening right now! White-throated sparrows are ready to breed and brightly-colored males like the one above are singing to attract mates. The song is an attention-getting series of clear whistled notes that you may have heard lately, too. Click on this sentence for a nice You-Tube video performance. Birdwatchers use this mnemonic to help remember the rhythm of the syllables in the white-throated sparrows's song: Old Sam Peabody-Peabody-Peabody.

Happy Easter!

“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.”

Sonnet 98, William Shakespeare

Glory-of-the-Snow

 

Here's a bunch of pretty spring flowers called by the common name glory-of-the-snow. They are blooming now in gardens and lawns in South Jersey. There has been almost no snow here this year, but if there had been, these flowers might have bloomed through it in a characteristic and eponymous way.

 

The flower is native to the eastern Mediterranean countries of Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus. It has six petals (technically tepals) that are fused at the base, a frosty white center, and tufts of yellow pollen. A very pretty combination. Click to enlarge.

Just Crocus Flowers

 

And a honeybee collecting crocus pollen. Click to enlarge.

"And time remembered is grief forgotten 

And  frosts are slain and flowers begotten,

And in green underwood and cover

Blossom by blossom the spring begins."

Algernon Charles Swinburne
 

It's Equinox Eve!

Spring begins in the northern hemisphere tomorrow, Monday, March 20, at 5:24 EDT. And here is one last winter flower that's blooming in my neighborhood. Behold the blue squill. Click to enlarge.

The squill is one of many non-native plants first introduced as an ornamental. It escaped its garden beds and spread so enthusiastically that it is now considered a pest in many areas. At least it’s pretty.

Periwinkle

Five purple petals, trailing low growth, glossy dark evergreen leaves -- it's a common periwinkle! You might know it as creeping myrtle or Vinca minor.

The plant is native to Europe and other parts of the world and has been imported to the US where it is in some places considered invasive. Lots of periwinkles opened up in my neighborhood this week. Click to enlarge. 

The periwinkle is mentioned in the poem below. I predict that you will be laughing or at least smiling before you find it -- especially if you read out loud.

 

 Bleezer's Ice Cream 

by Jack Prelutsky

"I am Ebenezer Bleezer,


I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,


there are flavors in my freezer


you have never seen before,


twenty-eight divine creations


too delicious to resist,


why not do yourself a favor,


try the flavors on my list:

COCOA MOCHA MACARONI


TAPIOCA SMOKED BALONEY


CHECKERBERRY CHEDDAR CHEW


CHICKEN CHERRY HONEYDEW


TUTTI-FRUTTI STEWED TOMATO


TUNA TACO BAKED POTATO


LOBSTER LITCHI LIMA BEAN


MOZZARELLA MANGOSTEEN


ALMOND HAM MERINGUE SALAMI


YAM ANCHOVY PRUNE PASTRAMI


SASSAFRAS SOUVLAKI HASH


SUKIYAKI SUCCOTASH


BUTTER BRICKLE PEPPER PICKLE


POMEGRANATE PUMPERNICKEL


PEACH PIMENTO PIZZA PLUM


PEANUT PUMPKIN BUBBLEGUM


BROCCOLI BANANA BLUSTER


CHOCOLATE CHOP SUEY CLUSTER


AVOCADO BRUSSELS SPROUT


PERIWINKLE SAUERKRAUT


COTTON CANDY CARROT CUSTARD


CAULIFLOWER COLA MUSTARD


ONION DUMPLING DOUBLE DIP


TURNIP TRUFFLE TRIPLE FLIP


GARLIC GUMBO GRAVY GUAVA


LENTIL LEMON LIVER LAVA


ORANGE OLIVE BAGEL BEET


WATERMELON WAFFLE WHEAT

I am Ebenezer Bleezer,


I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,


taste a flavor from my freezer,


you will surely ask for more."

 

Daylight Savings Time Coming Up

Heads up for next weekend when we'll turn our clocks forward to daylight savings time. That's next Sunday, March 12, at 2 a.m. or whenever you go to bed on Saturday. Spring itself will follow on March 20. The next thing you know we'll be having barbecues and beach days. Click to enlarge the spring flowers.