A full cluster of Early Saxifrage flowers, (Saxifraga virginiensis). These delicate little plants are so named because they're often found growing out of fine cracks in rocks and the Latin word for "stone" is "saxum," while the Latin word for "to break" is "fragere."

The lilacs around the barn that I live in are in full bloom and the smell is absolutely intoxicating. How the heck do winged pollinators do their jobs and stay sober? I was smelling them this evening and wondering if any scents could compare. I thought of the jasmine blossoms at my family's house southern California, Hyacinth blossoms in early April, a lover's hair on the pillow, apple pie fresh out of the oven, a glass of aged Bordeaux... Our sense of smell is so often overlooked, but when the setting is right, it's a wonderful thing.

Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) fiddleheads are one of my favorite vegetables to eat at this time of year. They were a valuable food source to many Native Americans and because they grow along flood plains of rivers, I often find them while I'm out fly-fishing, which means that my trout dinner will include some steamed or sauteed fiddleheads as well. (lightly buttered and salted, with a bit of garlic thrown in)

Trout-lilies, (Erythronium americanum) are a real "Paul Revere" of spring. They're one of my favorite ephemerals of the forest floor here in New England. Most people barely even notice them, if at all, as they fly through their life cycles and disappear so quickly. Each spring, while I'm out catching a few brook trout, or gathering fiddleheads, or searching for nesting raptors, I take a few moments to enjoy the abrupt appearance of trout-lilies.

Spring rolls on....

and baby birds are hatching everywhere.

Here are five young ravens looking about as gangly and ugly as they ever will, soaking up a bit of sun while their parents forage for food.

Can anyone tell me what in the world this sign actually means?! If I'm going to maintain any shred of hope for our society and humanity at large, then I have to believe that this doesn't give the bearer of stated certification permission to pollute at will in a gross fashion, (not that there's any form of pollution that isn't gross, but you know what I mean). I've got no clue.

Pointless fact of the day: When Mary, Queen of Scots died in the late 1500's, her body was wrapped in her billiard table cover. This got me to thinking about what I might like to have my body wrapped in. Since it's illegal to drag a human body off into the woods somewhere and let vultures, coyotes, ravens, etc., consume it, (which would be my first choice) I think what I'd really like is to be cremated and have my ashes mixed into some clay. The clay could then be made into a set of dishes, bowls and mugs nicely glazed with images of birds and leaves to be used by my family for future meals.

Building a nest on a thin glass tube that houses inert gas and an electric current doesn't seem like the best idea. When these little swallows hatch, they're going to think that they're in Las Vegas. Or maybe this nest wasn't built for egg-laying and raising chicks. Could it be that there are swallows in the eastern United States that are setting up a "red-lights district?"

Goshawks build outrageously impressive nests in the northern forests. There's something absolutely magical about walking into a dense stand of pine trees that's home to a pair of nesting goshawks. It's truly an experience that I simply cannot put into words. It just magic. Pure magic.

I've been spending a LOT of time in the woods since I returned to Maine, and enjoying the signs of spring. With the arrival of warmer days comes the emergence of some of my favorite species. Trout lilies, ostrich ferns, trillium, mayflowers, hendrickson's mayflies, and others. They all take on the appearance of familiar faces to me. Old friends.

I've still got snakes on the mind....

Pictured here is an adult Northern Black Racer. Racers are a very unusual and difficult snake to find in New England.