Nature Notes: End of March and April Begins

We're continuing to have a wet spring with mixed temperatures.

Since early to mid March, we haven't had a hard freeze to damage leaves and flowers that are ahead of schedule, and hopefully that will continue.

Some days there is a 40 degree difference between day and night temperatures and although it has stayed a few degrees above freezing, the bees don't like the chilly nights.

I base my assumption about the bees likes and dislikes on the fact that they seem frantic and confused in the morning.

I'm guessing the bug above is a ladybug because of it's spots but it's smaller and doesn't look like the ladybugs I see in the summer.

One good thing about how wet it has been is the pollen isn't as much of an issue as it would be in dry weather.

The shots above and below are ones I took at the Art Museum Park this weekend.

The next shot is on the street leading into the Museum and I'm not sure if the vine is honeysuckle or something else. It's early for honeysuckle if that's what it is.

The Pecan Tree in my back yard continues to leaf out and I'm holding my breath until we get past the last average freeze date.

The azalea is reaching towards the oak tree. The oaks are leafing out way ahead of schedule and are another tree's leaves that I would worry about if the temperatures dip too low.

Only one little cluster of the next flowers has come up so far this year.

After I posted this nature notes, I realized I hadn't included a single bird photo which is unusual for me.

As it happened, I spotted American Robins and a rufous-sided towhee and a few other birds on my deck.

I thought the robin and towhee shots turned out well enough to add them to this post.

I didn't include the other birds (sparrows and nuthatches) because they were moving too fast for clear shots.

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