https://vermontalmanac.org/virginia-barlows-calendar/

Some of us need to relearn the thrush songs anew every year: the sort of ee-o-lay of the wood thrush, followed by a buzz; the longish first note of the hermit thrush followed by a jumble; the downward slide (think V) of the veery.

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Daily check of the broad-winged hawk nest near our house, high in a maple tree, sometimes reveals a head on the nest and sometimes a tail; the incubating female taking in the view from both directions, as she sits there for 28 to 31 days, giving new perspective to our present stay-at-home situation.

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Ah, ticks. Tick repellent, pants stuffed into socks, tick checks, tick phobia. But staying indoors is not an option at this time of year.

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All the other spring ephemerals are flowering. Among the loveliest are Dutchman’s breeches, trout lily, toothwort. I could go on, they all are lovely.

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False hellebore has indifferent flowers and is poisonous to cattle. But right now its big vivid green, pleated leaves say “spring” louder than anything else.

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The first thunderstorms of spring arrived on 60-70 m.p.h. winds. Tornado warnings were issued for Bennington, Rutland, Windsor, and Windham counties.

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Hobblebush leaves are nice in the summer, colorful in autumn, but now, as they unfurl, they might be at their best: an intricate tapestry, white against tan. An elegant tan that we’re probably supposed to call ecru.

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Wood frogs have hatched in all the vernal pools that I’ve been looking at, leaving small air bubbles where there used to be eggs.

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A brown thrasher spent the afternoon helping with clean up below the birdfeeders. Thrashers are good at detecting and ejecting the eggs of the brown-headed cowbird. Their own eggs have a high UV reflectance, which cowbird eggs lack. Thrashers will toss their own eggs if researchers block the UV from them.

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At 4:30 a.m. the moon lit up the kitchen through the west window – the light bright enough to make coffee by.

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