Though the equinox is still almost three weeks away, the early signs of spring are abundant across Missouri. Morning birdsong has returned in force, the topsoil is thawing and a variety of early bulb plants (winter aconites, snowdrops, crocuses, hyacinths) are beginning to appear. Earthworms are returning to the surface, attracting robins to our greening lawns and munching down the leaf litter that clogs our gardens and hedgerows.
Out in the wetlands, waterfowl are gathering to rest and feed on their journey to the north and the earliest frogs (chorus frogs and peepers) are singing from the shallows. In the fields, cottontails have produced their first litter of the season, just in time for the initial crop of dandelions. And in the woodlands, robins, cardinals and morning doves are pairing off while downy, great horned owlets are already peering from the nest.
While man concentrates on his calendar, counting the hours until the "first day of spring," wild creatures are more in tune with nature's cycles. They don't need an official decree to know that the season of renewal has begun.
