As the days grow longer and the sun seems to shine just a touch warmer, we look around and think, “Finally. Spring is starting to show up.” And then we get three feet of snow and wonder what will happen next. It may not seem like it, but spring is here and snow is melting away rapidly. The ground isn’t frozen anymore and the air temperatures are staying above freezing during the days. The snow will be gone sooner than we know!

I promise, spring is truly here. Winter just has to give us a final dramatic goodbye on the way out. I have been seeing and hearing signs of spring that make me excited. The swales and Hidden Brook are starting to appear underneath the snow and ice. Take a walk down Hidden Brook Boardwalk and stop and take a moment to listen to the water rushing underneath. On warm sunny days, we have been hearing a few frogs in the swales. Birds are starting to migrate back – this weekend I saw about eight sandhill cranes while driving through the state. We’ve also heard their characteristic calls, one of my favorites, in the Sanctuary.

Now is an amazing time to come and explore the Sanctuary. There is a mixture of longer days, warmer weather, swales and ice melting, and yet there is also snow on the ground to see the stories of what animals have been traveling through. I love seeing animal tracks and marks pressed deep in the snow. The fun thing that can make it a little hard this time of year, is that as the snow melts, animal tracks distort and stretch, making a little rabbit track look as big as a wolf’s! Here are some things to pay attention to out in the Sanctuary:

– Frogs are calling on warm days with sunshine. Not very many yet, but they are starting.

– Snow melting away and green shoots pushing up. All the early spring plants will soon start to become visible and change the color of the forest floor.

– New birds calling, cardinals, robins, red winged blackbirds, and sandhill cranes are all back and loudly announcing their presence.

Spring is so many things. A sign of longer days, a time of refreshing, and a time when we start to long for warm summer days. When I think of spring, I think of all of the animals and plants waking up and rejoining us again. I wait impatiently for those little things that mark a new season starting.