the length of Spring

Here in the Yukon we do enjoy a long spring. For me it starts in February and ends in June. So three months plus. Winter  5 months, fall 1 month really just September, and summer 3 months.
Springs is lovely slow untill it all explodes gloriously somewhere in May.
So yesterday  no new sightings
Wednesday i did check out the townsendia with Mary Withley and the buds had swelled ...very slightly

As i was raising awareness for the grasslands in Southren Alberta ( where the townsendia is probably a more regular occurrence) it has come to my attention that the flowers are blooming in the coulees.( see my fb page)

Entering my old spring logs here and looking out into the forest i had the idea that the last ten years had been wetter then the first 10 years i lived here. I figured with all this talk about climate change there must be some data that reflect that. NOT SO, at least i can't find that kind of data. It means i have to read every individual page of what the weather was like at any given month and then make my own graph.

This is surprising to me...

So on my search i did find that March 1996 was exceptionally warm and average  of -1.1 C

compared to this year -14C

If i want to invest the time and work, i will try to make a graph, just to see what is going on. It is not that i don't believe climate warming. Yet

For me, i am very optimistic about the future. ENJOY NATURE  I believe that smelling the roses ( ehhh for now like yesterday when the sun does get very warm, it is smelling the dry grass, wonderful summer smell)

will eventually overcome all difficulty in the world. Smelling it right now right here. 

haha me running after crocus buds.

20 years ago

                                                                       April 19 2017

spring log 2000

2000

April 13, mud play

April 19 swans flying over

April 20 geese flying over

April 21 a mourning cloak

April 22 crocuses on the hill

April 26 juncos and white crown sparrow in the yard

April 28 crocuses blooming along the driveway

April 28 snowstorm

April 29 Audubon's warbler

May 1  took mulch of the garden, coming up: nettles,rhubarb, iris, bluebells,platain,sweet william, coltsfoot.

May 2 Robin arrived

May 26 and 27 big rain showers

May 29 green leaves  aspen coming out

May 31 bee

June 2 summer has started

Looking at the data of that year on environment canada

March 2000 the average temperature was - 2.7C

and precipitation was a total of 1.8 cm that month

again compared to this year

Oh right Government of Canada doesn't have that data yet, i had to go to another site...forgot which it did say Average -!4 C, which seems fairly accurate as we had a cold March.

Love