With that in mind, I first thought about the weather while I was home, and the climate of the mid-Atlantic region. I call Maryland my home, as I've lived there all my life, and right now it's going through that awkward in between phase of winter and spring. Although there are four seasons in Maryland, there really isn't much of a winter; if we get snow it's usually temporary and the forecast consistently predicts more than we get. In fact, I've even had school closed because snow was forecast, but never actually came.
I bring up the snow because it snowed while I was home, on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning so that there was about a 1/4 inch by 8 AM or so, not even enough to cover the grass. People in DC called it the Snowquester after the recent economic developments from the White House. It's crazy to think that there was snow Wednesday, yet this weekend yielded sunny skies and 60 degree weather. All within the span of a week. But that's part of the beauty of Maryland really; you just have to take it day by day.
What was most interesting about this situation, is that the birds and critters seemed slightly confused by the warmth and sunshine - thinking it was spring. On Saturday and Sunday morning, birds were chirping happily in the morning and throughout the day, despite the fact that colder weather will probably come again shortly. Some of the tulips in my front yard had already sprouted and started to grow, but cold weather will stop them in their tracks. Crocus, typically a small purple or white flower, is one of the first flowers out in very early spring, verging on the end of winter (pictured below). Small patches of the small flowers could be found here and there throughout the neighborhood, but this is a flower that can withstand threatening colder temperatures.
The temperature and climate are one way in which ecology was witnessed over spring break.
| Crocus, image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crocus_group.jpg |
Your post reminds me of spring last year in Vermont. It hit 70 degrees multiple times last march and the animals and plants seemed confused. I saw a lot of trees budding out at the end of march and early April. The spring wildflowers came exceptionally early as well. It was a peculiar and early spring, very unlike this year.
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