Snow! April Fools?
What a different view out the window this morning. The lawn that was beginning to turn green is now hidden under three inches of snow, and the red squirrel foraging under the bird feeder is half buried. The native plants and animals are adapted to the changeable spring weather, but the early flowers that I’ve photographed recently are probably regretting their early bloom. The Colt’s-Foot, Bird’s-Eye Speedwell, and Lesser Periwinkle that are flowering in Tompkins County this week are all introduced species. The same is true of the honeysuckles that already have emergent foliage. Most of the non-native species inhabit the places where we are most likely to see them; the lawns, fields, and disturbed areas that we create and frequent. A walk in the forest in the first week of April provides a contrast. Here the majority of organisms are native, and most are much less evident in the early spring. And even less so today, covered in snow.
Snow - four weeks ahead of the City Nature Challenge. Join our project, join our team of observers, join the global community working to document biodiversity!
