Spring!

Yippee! Spring is here!

Pasqueflowers are blooming!

Foals are bounding!

The flickers are flicking!

The river is flooding! Yikes!

After presenting a scat and tracks program for K-2 graders in Beach, ND yesterday morning, I cruised the park and took pictures. The river is flooding and still on its way up today. After walking around by the river trying to take pictures of it, I hopped in the car to find a tick crawling up my arm. I nearly put the car in a ditch, but then calmed down, picked the tick up, and flicked it out the window.

It's getting greener outside. The forbs in the prairie dog towns are turning the towns green, despite the "damage" prairie dogs do in the eyes of cattlemen. The gooseberry bush in the native plant garden by the visitor center is leafing out as of this morning.

I went up to Wind Canyon and could hear meadowlarks for what seemed to be miles around. I haven't seen the tree sparrows lately, so they might have left along with many of the juncos. Grackles showed up.

The river is currently at flood stage, though we don't seem to be doing anything about it. I'm not sure about the cause, but it must be melting snow near the headwaters of the river. It's higher than it was when the ice broke up in March.