By Mary Beth Pottratz
Spring has crept silently into the landscape. Tulip tips are two or three inches above their beds. A few groups of yellow daffodils reflect the sun. Flocks of robins, starlings and chickadees flit between trees. Their furtive “check” and “chip” calls can barely be heard above the wind. The ground is glowing green in spots where tiny sedges, blades of grass and clumps of moss appear.
The first day of spring will occur Tuesday, March 19. The length of our day and night will become equal!
Forsythia shrubs have already sprouted golden yellow buds along their branches! One of the earliest shrubs to blossom, the flowers open before the leaves appear. They give a yellow glow to the shrub.
I eagerly check the Arboretum’s handy Garden Highlights web page for a list of other blooming plants this week. It shows the greater pasque flower in bloom, two full weeks ahead of its usual Easter week flowering time. Red-berried elder shrubs display deep red buds in pairs along the branches. And pussy willows are showing off soft furry buds.
Nearby, prairie smoke clumps are starting to set their leaves. But the pasque flower leaves here are barely clearing the ground.
The ice is out in the middle of Green Heron and Wood Duck ponds. As I watch birds munching on berries in treetops, I see a flash of bright blue. It’s my first Eastern bluebird of the year!
Other firsts for 2024 include a golden-crowned kinglet, a pair of sandhill cranes and a pair of trumpeter swans. Several young squirrels with dark red tails gorge on catkins, berries and nuts.
Before I leave, I simply must visit the Dakota Sacred Hoop Walk by Spirit Lake Dakota artist Marlena Myles. This beautiful and informative augmented reality exhibit offers five stops within a half-mile. Each stop explains facets of Dakota beliefs about the Earth and how all living beings are related through the Sacred Hoop. I downloaded the Revelo AR app at home. At the Arb, I open the app, click on the map and walk to each site.
I point my phone at the sign at each location, and my phone comes alive with the artist’s work and explains each part of the Sacred Hoop. The entire presentation occurs in front of the nature and art we are discussing. What a generous and thoughtful way to share beliefs. I hope you have a chance to try it!
Mary Beth Pottratz is a Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteer. More information about the program is available at www.minnesotamasternaturalist.org.