I'm sure most of us are enjoying little signs of spring. Each day brings more green sprouts, flowering trees and blooming bulbs. Our saucer magnolia just began to open today and looks pretty, but it will become a show-stopper when it's in its full glory!
Remember the Lenten rose I shared several weeks ago? Now it's in full bloom and it will still be going strong for Easter.
Forsythia bushes look like liquid sunshine to me!
Here is something a little unusual. This is the birch tree I recently shared when it shed some bark, which I used for a vase.
It partially overhangs the glass roof of our solarium and yesterday I kept noticing a dripping sound on it. I was in and out of the house all day, but I noticed it each time I was home. Elementary teachers are quite accustomed to repetitive noises, but this consistent drip, drip, drip was even getting on my nerves by the end of the day! I knew it couldn't be rain and there wasn't any indication of sap, so what was it? It's a phenomenon called "positive root pressure" and is the tree's response to warm weather. The root system pulls-up water from the soil and sends it into the branches to help buds break. Since the tree has no leaves to absorb that liquid, it comes through the lenticels (pores in the bark). It's noticeable when a tree has been pruned in the winter and we had ours all done in January, which explains why we're seeing it now. This morning when the sun came out, I could see large drops of water on the end of each and every branch! Although it looks and feels like pure water, what I read indicated that there is diluted sap in it. The process in no way hurts the tree and it will stop within a few weeks. Isn't that interesting? When I stood beneath it to take this picture, it felt like it was sprinkling on me! Have you ever heard of this?
In addition to all of these sights of spring, my ears let me know that the new season truly is just around the corner. It's the sign I most enjoy because it's magical when you hear it for the first time of the season. I heard the peeper frogs!!
What's your favorite sign of spring?