Signs of Spring
March 6th, 2009 at 3:37 am by Bill Steffen under Bill's Blog, Weather
Besides the obvious that temperatures have warmed up…we had “sweating” streets Friday morning. The dewpoint climbed higher than the surface temperature of the pavement, so there is some condensation on the roads and they were a little wet. Also, the varmits are waking up. I’ve seen roadkill…one skunk and one opossum. We also had a skunk out in the parking lot at WOOD early Thursday AM. The hummingbirds have arrived on the Gulf Coast and will be moving north. I’ve seen motorcycles out and one convertible. You can also see changes in the sky, with the sun rising closer to due east and setting closer to due west. At night the constellation Orion is drifting to the west in our evening sky. I have a couple of snowdrops blooming outside and the crocuses are about 2″ out of the ground. Happy almost spring!
Happy almost spring to you too. I seen a sandhill crane last week in a feild.Lucky for him he was’nt leg deep up to his tail feathers in snow. My 1st thought was boy is he lost. I have seen the skunk roadkill also,unless he was sleeping.Spring is near. Maybe those penguins in Marqette will move on north/south too. Thought that was a good story to put a smile on some faces.I Had you and Bob P. going for a bit. Have a great Friday.
HAPPY ALMOST SPRING BILL!
I have smelled Skunk out here at my house. Another way I can tell Spring is coming .. the cloud and their structure during these warm ups, check out the sunrise yesterday: http://icons-pe.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/c/charlesimages/2448.jpg
You sure do know how to take some GREAT pics Charles. I still have to hook up with Mark on my 1978 blizard photos. They are old school,camera of the times, but they are good. Car parked on the road between Belding and Lowell with 15 foot snow banks on both sides.Plus many others. Still 54.5° at this time.
Morning you all! I too have seen some signs of Spring,smelled a skunk yesterday morning and last night early evening heard a couple birds singing, and on the way to Grand Rapids last night I saw a lot of road kill too!
Boy it’s windy!
Have to go, Sure hope to see those pictures Vincent!
Charles, great pictures!
Thanks Vincent & Patti!
Hey I’d like to see those old blizzard pix too!!
It’s kind of nice to have some warmer weather. Today try to do some yard work, clean off the back porch area. The skunks have been out at night time, I don’t see them, but sure do smell them.
We’ve had a few skunks leave their telltale smell this week too, and I was dodging dead opossums on EB I-196 this morning as well. Feels great outside!
We opened the windows for a few hours yesterday, good to get rid of the “stale air” in the house.
Did anyone go to the Skywarn training in Ionia last night?
I heard a red winged blackbird on Thursday!!!!
Yes signs of early spring, I have seen (even early in the week when it was cold) that the sap is running. A nice and warm 52° here this AM. Yep I seen that the road was wet and when I checked the rain gage it was dry. But with the roads wet that is a good sign that the frost is melting in the ground and will have a chance that the rain will soak in the ground and not just run off.
SlimJim
Yeah, the sap has been running for 3 weeks or more! Still have not heard a red-wing, but suspect I will today. Temp is up to 57F over here. Wow! ENJOY all…..
Skunks would be totally adorable, if it weren’t for their odors.
That and the rabies
saw three motorcycles yesterday ( thursday march 5) on alpine ave by the meijers
that is a sign of spring isn’t it?
The skunks are definitely on the move. One day while I was making my daily trek out to Grand Rapids I encountered two highly rancid smelling areas of skunk death. I don’t know if I can recall so many dead skunks during one time.
p-u!
The redwing blackbird males have arrived and are visiting my birdfeeder. They are fun to watch as they fly straight in from the marsh. The females should arrive soon, and then the grackles and cowbirds. I enjoy watching for all the different signs of spring! When do spring peepers start?
I too have been so lucky to smell a few little stinkers in the last few days. In fact one sprayed by my daughters bedroom window the house stunk for hours.
It was nice to open up and air out the house yesterday.
I think everyone is getting spring fever, I know, I am. I love hummingbirds. Where we camp during the summer, we have alot of hummingbirds. I have a big red coffee cup, and that draws them to me. I haven’t seen any robin birds in my area.
Forecast high of 64 here today with PM sun!! Sooo nice
Happy “almost” spring??? Oh come on Bill have a heart:) Just for the heck of it forecast an early spring tonight instead of gloom and doom for late next week…heh heh. Oh I forgot we live in Michigan.
Woodpeckers are pecking, finches are yellowing up, male cardnials are fighting. My cars are breaking down. Sure signs of spring.
It’s great to see new life again…willows are turning color in preparing to leaf out, tree are getting their red buds, sand hill cranes are flying by, ducks and geese are on the ponds…Happy Early Spring to All!!!!!!! get out and enjoy it!!
Don’t forget about the “wonderful” POT HOLES all over Michigan roads!!!!!
I think i lost a tire in one this morning… HA HA HA
That is a sure sign of spring right????
Jamie….agreed driving I-696 West bound from Grandville in the right lane is dangerous!!!!!
me and the wife discussed just last night that with the ice starting to come off the lakes and our memories of when our kids were young..
We lived on Otsego Lake outside of Gaylord…we would alway enjoy the spring breakup of the ice..watching the 4 to 6 pairs of eagles fishing along the edge of the open water for winter killed fish..sometimes this would last a week or two other years it would only take a day….
But, the one thing we remember the most is our kids would plead with us to go swimming the very next day…..some years we could stall them for a week or two but normally within a couple of days we would have enough of their begging and let them go…….they wouldn’t last long in that water, but they sure were not going to say they made a mistake…..
I’m sure as a kid, I was the same way…. young and dumb….now to think I need the water to be above 70 degrees before I jump in………
Noticed a hatch of pond skaters on my pond this afternoon.
Beautiful day, everyone ! I live not too far from Channel 8 between Lyon and Fountain. Our backyard is actually a “green space” we call the “woods”. Everything lives back there, skunks, possums, rabbits, ground hogs, racoons, you get the picture. Two weeks ago there was a possum hanging out in the backyard in the a.m. right out in the open, checking out my cat. During the summer they come up on the deck and lick off our grilling tools ! One night on the way home from Butterworth Hospital, when I worked 2nd shift, a red fox was running up Fountain St heading towards Houseman Field..probably looking for treats left from a football game, under the bleachers. My neighbor said one day a deer came struting out of the woods and headed on up towards the Fulton St cemetary. It’s so beautiful in the summer..the woods give us privacy and never ending surprises..you never know what’s gonna come into our backyard. I am having trouble attracting humming birds. Just 1 last year, but he hung around the feeder for long periods of time. Any hints ? I hang my feeder out around the 15th of April.
It was a super Friday…saw my first Redwing Blackbird east of St. Johns and saw my first Robin in Lansing Friday afternoon. He was singing his most beautiful song this late afternoon in mid-60 degree weather. It was an awesome afternoon, as well as a supberg early evening to sit back and enjoy Mother Nature on an early spring day. How wonderful it was to listen to her beauty and to take it all in. I have to mention that I also enjoyed the early spring day by having a couple of beers!!! Happy Spring to everyone!
Bill…I have tulips coming up in my yard already! Is it just me or are they too early!
Probably a blessing that the weather is going to cool back into the 40’s and eventually 30’s next week, it would definitely kill off any early blooming crocuses or tulips…
BTW – kudos to Bill and his team, they are the best meteorologists in the West MI area and I love the interesting tidbits Bill mixes into his forecasts on TV-8 and also in the Press, and on a sidenote I will miss his occasional visit to the Rick and Scott show on WOOD-AM 1300 unless Scott Winters gets teamed up with somebody else…
Seen alot of robins the last few days in Coldwater.
We have a pair of sandhill cranes that have been hanging around my neighbors cornfield for the past two winters, they never leave. Last week I saw my first pair of bluebirds checking out one of my nestboxes, it’ll be time to start buying the grubs soon. And if that wasn’t enough evidence that spring in Michigan is here, I’ve spotted a couple of road construction signs that have just appeared magically out of nowhere. Hello Spring!
I saw a robin yesterday (while mountain biking) at Deep Lake in the Barry State Game area. Mountain Bikes and Robins have got to mean that spring is almost here.
Hi everyone:
The weather in Florida is looking good for the long term, although lack of rain is really an issue here. The forecast is in the 80’s through next week here in Kissimmee. Nice to hear that Spring is breaking through for you as it has been a loooong winter. Will be home in about 5 weeks to enjoy the Michigan Springtime!!.
Thanks Bob…….for raining on our parade….to us poor saps 60 is awsome…now you got us wishing for 80’s………
Have a safe trip back!! abring some some more heat and sunshine with you…
I would not put those snow shovels away yet folks! After all this is Michigan!
Happy Spring! On March 1, we saw 3 robins in our backyard.
Janie D: Be glad to help you out. First be persistant. Humminbirds are attracted to mostly red and orange. We have alot now since we moved out in the country. What I did was I hang a red and orange blanket out on either a clothes line or on a tree branch. That way, they are attracted to it during migration north. Then buy plants that are attracting to Hummingbirds. Bee balm is real good. Also, we buy several Fuchsia hanging baskets and hang them around the yard. And make sure you buy a trumpet vine. If you buy one, make sure you plant it in an area that will give it lots of room. It will spread ALOT! I go to Fruit Basket for my plants and they are real helpful and will be glad to answer any questions you may have. If you do this you’ll be well on your way. Good Luck this year. If you have any other questions or need advise, will be glad to help. I’ll keep looking.Bye for now
What fun reading you guys. Ya, the redwing blackbirds are back. We have a “group” of sandhill cranes on our property year around. These birds are very sacred to our local Pottawatami tribe. Haven’t seen any bluebirds yet…has anyone seen a robin yet? Also, our beloved Rabbit River is almost running into our fish pond as we speak. Never seen it so high so consistently as this year. The skunks are definitely on the move as are our coyote pack. They have a den not far from here. You can hear them howling at nite and they are the mangiest, ugliest group I’ve ever seen. They raided our barn next door a few years ago and killed quite a few birds. We come across their scat and footprints now and then in the woods. You folks have a good day now.
I have not seen a robin yet, but I did see a crane the other day! Woot Woot!
Bill, those few days above 50 degrees was a real treat from Mother Nature……I take it back…..a gift from God. Just going about around town has gotten me excited about the upcoming spring weather and my birth month, May. I’m looking forward to the daffodils popping out of the ground and our native birds the robin making a comeback and chirping the daytime hours away. Let me also say it was awesome to drive with the windows down a bit and the sunshine put me in a pleasant mood. What gets you excited about spring, Bill? Lawn mowing and gardening?
Nice thunderstorm we’re having today too!
I saw a Robin in my backyard on Thurday evening. Yes!!!!!!!!
OH MY GOD!!!!!! When I got up this morning and looked out the window, there are dozens of robins in both my front and back yard. I haven’t seen this many robins in our yard for several years. I tried to count them but had to stop at 29. They flew off. WOW!!!!!