March House Log
Good Morning
House Logs are an offshoot of my Nature Log and We Make a Home series, created with the intention to record the beauty and seasons during (at least) our first year living on our new piece of land! I’ll be sharing photo essays about each month, and all the photos will be taken at/in our home and on our land as a way to observe and appreciate this new-to-us place. It will cover explorations both wild and domestic.
If I had to choose a least favorite month, I long would have chosen March. But this year felt different. I have always expected March to bring spring (calendar-wise, it does, after all), but this year, instead I was ready for rain, snow, hail, cold days, warm days, sun and clouds—and that’s what I got! It started with the full moon while were still blanketed in snow. It’s called the seed moon this month.
I came to appreciate how apt the name really is.
March is the month of preparation, for a lot of unseen work that drives living things back to the surface for the next season. We sowed our own seeds inside, and the bulbs we planted in the fall showed signs of survival.
We planted daffodils and tulips at the last possible moment in the fall, with the slim hope of a spring flowering. Every day since the very first little cone emerged from the ground, I stop by and check on them. I couldn’t be more excited!
We also sowed our first seeds! We’ll be planting lots of perennials around the property and a small annuals plot. So far, we have started tomatoes, chamomile, calendula, yarrow, green & welsh onions, parsley, basil, chives, and zinnias. They’re growing beautifully too. We should be able to transplant and direct sow outside in April.
Last year’s chives are emerging from their pot outside, AND I found a patch of wild onion grass that nearly brought me to my knees on the forest floor. I cannot wait to see everything that grows here.
I also spotted the first tiny, springy mushrooms of the spring! Could they be any cuter? The mini ferns are the perfect touch. Thank you little twig.
And, the birds are back.
Flocks of robins, juncos, and blackbirds. Woodpeckers and nuthatches hopping and jousting. Bluejays and titmice and geese and crows calling out into the warming air.
Their songs are near ever-present now, melodies so clear and bright and uninterrupted! I see a handful of hairy woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, and yellow-bellied sapsuckers every day. They flit around, good at hovering and darting from tree to tree.
I think the tufted titmouse sounds like a copy or fax machine, bleating out mechanical squeaks that fit its mohawk quite well.
It’s fun to watch the birds change through the oscillating weather too, preening in the sun or puffed up against the cold.
The tree buds will be open soon! The tops of maple trees are red at great distances, hazy and rosy on the hillsides.
The birds love the Aspens. From fuzzy buds to dancing catkins already, I think they may be the first to leaf. Leafing out is the ultimate spring transformation the landscape.
If you need Emilio or me, we’ll be sitting in the trees, watching spring come.
That tiny mushroom. Fairy tale perfection. And your thank you is perfect too :)
It is ever so exciting to see every thing come back!! I can’t help but smile the first time I hear the birds are back. What a relief to have them again 😊. Happy Spring ♥️