March 20

Monday, Remi joined me to hike again at Forest Hill Nature Area and to celebrate the Vernal Equinox. The early morning weather was mostly cloudy with a temperature of 36 degrees and no wind. Leaving the parking lot, I headed west down Energy Hill to Mallard Marsh where I spotted a pair of Canada Geese that appeared to claim this area for nesting. Continuing west through Bobolink Meadow, I entered North Woods and paused at the large vernal pond that still had a layer of floating ice. Exiting the woods, I circled Succession Field and passed east through Birch Row which actually includes a mixture of Paper Birch and Quaking Aspen trees as indicated by some of the Aspen’s small fuzzy catkins littering the trail. Gazing skyward, I was drawn to the familiar call of Sand hill Cranes flying overhead. Turning south into South Woods, I came to the end of the boardwalk in Swanson Swamp where I was greeted by the sights and sounds of the opening of spring. Further down the trail, I came upon one of several Ash trees that was previously killed by the Ash Borer and recently blown over by strong winds. Walking over to examine the damage, I noticed the gallery pattern on the bark where the larvae had disrupted the vertical flow of nutrients to girdle and kill the tree. Exiting the woods, I made my way south past Sora Swale, around the south trail past Brady Cemetery and into Native Grassland where I paused to acknowledge the sun as it broke through the clouds and realized that a few hours ago it had crossed the celestial equator to begin warming our hemisphere. Next, I came to Grebe Pond where I caught a rare glimpse of a male Hooded Merganser as it rapidly swam toward the far shore. Finally, I continued north past the DeGraaf classroom building to the car and headed for home.

Orb of the heavens

Beaming bright

Sustainer of life

Grateful sight

Sun of the day

Gives us a sign

Ascending the sky

Reaching the line

Star of the earth

Warmth you bring

Crossed the equator

Welcome to spring

D. DeGraaf