Date: 1/8/26 10:46 am From: Peter Saracino <petersaracino...> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] EARLY signs of spring
And I found skunk cabbage up and growing in mid December!!!
See photo attached.
Pete Saracino
On Thu, Jan 8, 2026, 9:45 AM Alyssa Johnson <
<thebarehandednaturalist...> wrote:
> Good morning!
>
> This morning I not only saw a red fox running around our property, but I
> also caught a whiff of "fox" in the air (skunky, musky scent of their
> marking). That is one of the earliest signs of the changing seasons in my
> opinion- breeding season is underway! While I was watching the fox run
> through the field, I also heard a single Tufted Titmouse singing
> "peter-peter-peter", a very welcome sound. With the mild temperatures
> today, it definitely feels like spring is around the corner! Unfortunately
> it looks like temps will be back in the 20's and teens next week.
>
> I'll leave you all with this excerpt from A Sand County Almanac
> <https://www.thetedkarchive.com/library/aldo-leopold-a-sand-county-almanac#toc7>,
> Part I "January Thaw":
>
> "T*he months of the year, from January up to June, are a geometric
> progression in the abundance of distractions. In January one may follow a
> skunk track, or search for bands on the chickadees, or see what young pines
> the deer have browsed, or what muskrat houses the mink have dug, with only
> an occasional and mild digression into other doings January observation can
> be almost as simple and peaceful as snow, and almost as continuous as cold.
> There is time not only to see who has done what, but to speculate why.*"
>
> Have a wonderful day,
>
> Alyssa Johnson
> Searsburg, Trumansburg
>
