Isn't it beautiful? Some find the mourning cloak to be a drab, boring butterfly. I think they are georgeous! How could you do anything but celebrate the first butterfly of spring? They overwinter under the bark of trees and emerge before any other species. Until I see one, I can't be sure that spring is really here.
Besides the mourning cloak we must also celebrate one of the earliest spring wildflowers - hepatica. Their beautiful purple flower heads are held up by the fuzziest stems you'll ever see. The hairs on the stem protect them from the cold and snow that still lingers in the beginning of spring.
During the cold, wet days of early spring the sounds of the season filter in to brighten even the darkest day. Cardinals sing their courting songs, the familiar Phoebe buzz call perks up the afternoon as they sit around the garden bouncing their tails and scanning the air for insects, and spring peepers, wood frogs, and chorus frogs fill the air with their musical mating game.
Next will come the best part...the green will return. The green from grass, trees, moss, and all of the wonderful plants that grow along the canal, around the pond, and in the woods and meadows. It is already peeking up from the lawns, soon it will be everywhere.
