OK, so a couple weeks ago I got all eager that it felt like spring. Within 36 hours, we had 2" of snow on the ground! Bah, I'm not afraid of snow -- I'll say it again: spring feels close! There, now the forecast for potential snow Saturday night and Sunday may proceed! I notice today Indian Plum was budding out everywhere. A lovely native shrub of our open mix forests, it is one of the first awakening native plants to let us know winter won't last forever. These lovely leaves will soon share the sunlight with a lovely chain of small white flowers that emerge from them. One of the first things bees can find to visit every spring! Shrubs of Indian Plum can reach the size of almost 10-12' and really are stunning to enjoy. Once the flowers are over and the rest of the forest wakes up, these lovely plants seem to be forgotten and go into a blend-in stage with the rest of their surroundings. But for now, they really stand out as "hey, we're ALIVE!" and I always pay my due respect to them in my forest on our property.
On a side note, a drive not far from the Snoqualmie River this afternoon yielded seeing two mature Bald Eagles together doing pass-by flights of each other in huge trees overhanging an oxbow lake/slough area. I'm going to be watching this area closely as they sure don't seem to be in a hurry to leave to nest elsewhere so they likely might be nesting nearby this year. There is a nest site within 1/2 mile of where I saw them so that might be home headquarters yet again for these two this year. Stay tuned!
(photos, top-to-bottom: Indian Plum budding out; Bald Eagle pair flying by each other in the trees)
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