Spring is progressing at a rapid pace here in Anchorage.
Here are a dozen signs:
1. The temperature did not drop below freezing Sunday and Monday nights.
2. Snow Geese came through at least a week ago, Canadian Geese are on the playground as this is being written, and a Mallard was seen this morning looking tired.
3. Somebody actually noticed a whiff of an 'earthy' smell yesterday afternoon.
4. Mr. Sterling, who has been commuting to school on his bike for four weeks now, has noticed the onset of the springtime onshore/offshore wind cycle on the south end of town since Monday. He claims he notices it because it means he has to ride 12 miles to work with a headwind and then ride 12 miles home in the evening with a headwind. If he were the Grinch, he'd steal spring.
5. Our 'Leaf Out' group noticed a swelling of the buds on their chosen white birch tree.
6. The 'Tulips' group noticed that tulips on the Southwest side of some houses are coming up. No activity on any other sides of any houses has been noted.
7. The plant nurseries all had full parking lots on Sunday.
8. Though we are not sure this is a sign of spring, we had an immature bald eagle in a tree by the soccer field for an entire day last week. This morning, a mature eagle flew over the school. We're not sure this is a sign of spring because we have eagles here all the time, though some fly to the Chilkat valley in the fall.
8. The ravens are getting kind of scarce here in town. When the gulls arrive every spring, the ravens disappear into the mountains. Nobody knows where they go, but people suspect that they find it difficult to compete with the gulls. No gull sightings so far.
9. The 'Ice Out' group notes that some of the smaller ponds are looking kind of mushy. Mr. Sterling heard the mountain stream that runs through his property running last night, though snow and ice still cover it completely.
10. The pussy willows are really fluffy.
11. The roads are really frost-heaving something fierce!
12. Several boys came in from recess looking, shall we say, 'shabby'. They were wet and covered with mud. Some people correlated the earthy smell mentioned earlier with their presence.
That constitutes an even dozen. Lucky we're not bakers, eh?
Sincerely,
The many spring watchers in Mr. Sterling's class at Sand Lake Elementary School in Anchorage, Alaska.
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