We are slowly watching the world melt-thick piles of familiar snow are making way for muddy earth.  In Vermont we eagerly watch the changing season after a long winter.  Every little thing is registered by our hopeful eyes.  Mud season looks like a miracle when you spent months wandering around in a world of white.  

Ranger Ethan Hard at Work
 

Don't get me wrong, we love winter in Vermont, but it is difficult to not get excited about seasonal changes no matter the season.  It's exciting to see turkey tracks in mud after you've been observing them white on white for so many months. It's thrilling to see the first ephemeral wildflowers poke their green heads out of wet leaves on the forest floor.  We greet morning air full of bird song with bright smiles.

Another sign of spring is the clearing of garden beds and raking of lawns. As you read this, Park Rangers across Vermont are readying state park facilities for happy park visitors.  Your favorite park is getting raked, primped and ready for a busy season of good old fashioned outdoor recreation fun.  The earliest opening parks: Wilgus, Jamaica, Grand Isle and Niquette Bay State Parks will be open before you know it. 

Shadbush Flowers
 

Take a visit to these early opening parks and look for your own signs of spring.  Watch for the white fragrant flowers of the shadbush. This shrub or small tree sports profuse numerous white or pinkish flowers that stand out in the early gray spring woods before leaves emerge.  It is also called serviceberry. The name shadbush comes from the timing of the bloom coinciding with the anadromous American shad run in New England streams, including the Connecticut River. Once you spot one of these pretty little trees up close, you will be able to identify them wherever you drive around Vermont in early spring.  

Bring your binoculars and take a nice slow walk through the woods to look for another bright sign that summer is on its way-the return of migratory forest birds to their nesting territory in Vermont. Early spring, before leaves emerge on tree limbs, is the best time to look for forest-dwelling birds.  In spring these songbirds molt from their drab winter colors into their bright breeding plumage.  Watch for bright flashes of color in the trees above. 

  Common Yellowthroat

A favorite early warbler is the Common Yellowthroat. The males sport black masks with bright yellow bellies.  These curious little warblers nest in edges and shrubby areas often near water.  Listen for their distinctive witchety-witchety-witchety call and stop and watch for them in low vegetation.  These inquisitive warblers will pop out of thick vegetation and investigate if you make pishing sounds.