Dirt and sawdust

This spring seems springier than previous springs. I think it is from all the nature around me though. In grad school, it would get nice in the spring, the undergrads would start wearing less clothing, the starlings would get all frisky, and there would be more people walking around. Here in the Midwest though, there is more animal activity.

I attribute this perceived springiness to the variety of animals around and early farming activities around where I live. I grew up in Vermont and New Hampshire though, so I think it is a little strange that this catches my attention so much. My bird feeder has been busy. At night, I can go to sleep to the sound of all the peepers in the swamp behind my house and wake up to the birds singing in the morning. And of course, the undergrads here are all of a sudden wearing sun dresses when it is still barely 65 degrees out.

This morning was a good example of what I keep noticing. In a short half hour drive, I saw three turkey vultures in a field presumably eating something, one with its wings spread open. A ring-necked pheasant also crossed the road in front of my car. There was also a farmer flowing his field and it smelled of fresh dirt. At another house, a man was cutting up a tree he had felled. I can't wait until the first fresh-cut grass of spring.