Crow’s Nest: Yet more winter

By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.

I know you’re probably tired of winter; maybe you’ve seen enough snow. But just think: pretty soon it will be gone, and with it the opportunities to build with snow, to go sledding or snow-shoeing, or test the traction capabilities of your spouse’s all-wheel drive station wagon. (I’m not suggesting you do the latter, but ours did pretty well.)

Above, our parking lot earlier today. Nobody was out yet; this was before we plowed. The piles of snow at the far end are getting pretty big, a legacy of snow after snow. There will be plenty of work to come, putting all the gravel embedded in those mounds back in place.

The kids’ play area looks a lot different in snow. We just did a bunch of tree work here so there will need to be a lot more work to put everything back—please bear with us!

French Creek meanders through the snow. We’ve had colder winters, though this one has been generous with the snow.

I’ve spent so much of the last month, and some of December, moving snow, that I am just now getting around to enjoying its other properties. But I never fail to miss how beautiful it is.

In early mornings after snow, the higher elevations have much more snow sticking to trees than here in the valley.

There are signs of spring coming. I can smell it in the air. The sun blazes longer and warmer each day.

Haywagons await summer service.

Spring-fed waters stay warm year round and there’s plenty of green there. Under the snow you can expect skunk cabbage is already blooming, salamanders are stirring, and trees are awakening. Red maple buds are already plump; it won’t be long now until they flower.