"Never be within doors when you can rightly be without." -Charlotte Mason

 

Signs of Spring

Signs of spring in the Rocky Mountains are definitely different than what I grew up with on the Great Plains. For one thing there is still plenty of snow when March 20th rolls around. The daffodils have not even sent up their green shoots, nor the tulips. This is our fourth spring to live in the mountains and we are growing more accustomed to this winter wonderland and what early signs of spring look like. For instance today I saw the first bluebird and a red winged blackbird. The ice on the river has begun to break up and the river is flowing nicely amid its snow banks. We are still skiing, but the snow is not so much powder as it is icy, and there is mud everywhere. One thing that we have not yet seen, but are looking forward to as a sure sign of spring are the white pelicans that nest just down the road from us. When they arrive we are told it is surely spring.

Vivaldi- It's Spring Time To Sing Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi- The Four Seasons: Spring

 

Although, it does not yet look like this in the high Rocky Mountains, it won't be long!

Springtime in the Rockies

Written In March -
by William Wordsworth

The cock is crowing,
The stream is flowing,
The small birds twitter,
The lake doth glitter
The green field sleeps in the sun;
The oldest and youngest
Are at work with the strongest;
The cattle are grazing,
Their heads never raising;
There are forty feeding like one!

Like an army defeated
The snow hath retreated,
And now doth fare ill
On the top of the bare hill;
The plowboy is whooping- anon-anon:
There's joy in the mountains;
There's life in the fountains;
Small clouds are sailing,
Blue sky prevailing;
The rain is over and gone!

Looking for Spring

On the first day of Spring I gave the boys the camera and we went looking for signs of Spring. It was great to get outdoors and hike around. Here are a few things they found.

The post oak with it's new flowers.

A little purple flower growing near the pond.

A white flowering bush

A flowering fruit tree (peach, I think).

And the lovely fire ants we have in Texas!

The cottonwood showing it's flowers-We have been waiting to see whether this tree was female or male. The one in our old neighborhood was male. This one happens to be a female. You can identify them by their flowers.

The beautiful wisteria we found that was climbing on a neighbor's tree.

After all the fun of searching for Spring we decided to attempt to paint spring trees with the aid of this tutorial. It was so much fun and the boys loved the way the branches on the tree looked real. Happy Spring!!