Bird and Garden Diary - March

March 1 : Blizzard! March comes in like a lion. The library closes early. Wind is blowing. Snow is drifting. My snowman is almost buried!

March 2 : We have another 18" of snow. There is a 3-foot drift across the front sidewalk, and drifting halfway up my front window. Gwen cannot see over it!

March 11 : Warming up. Rode with Dawn and Kathy down to Wabasha to see bald eagles along the Mississippi. On the way back we see lots of horned larks in the fields along the roads.

March 13 : Temperatures have been averaging 20 degrees above normal for several days. High is 66 today. I got out my birdbath and put away the snowman.

March 22 : I see the first robin of the season. I also have a pair of house finches at the feeders. Most of the snow has melted.

March 24 : Signs of spring are everywhere! Red-winged blackbirds are here by the hundreds. Also seeing lots of killdeers and mourning doves. Lots more robins. The juncos are still here. In the am I notice three bulbs coming up by the birdbath. When I go out in the pm I notice a lot more that are coming up, mostly in the area around the birdbath.

March 26 : Record high of 81 degrees!

March 27 : Some of the purple crocus has bloomed. It seemed to pop all of a sudden. I didn't even know any had come up!

March 31 : I see some of the little iris have bloomed along with the crocus.