I have found Dandelion flowers in several places in the lawns where snow has melted around the grounds at Kendal !
Donna Scott Kendal at Ithaca-377 Sent from my iPhone On Jan 8, 2026, at 1:47 PM, Peter Saracino <[email protected]> wrote: And I found skunk cabbage up and growing in mid December!!! See photo attached. Pete Saracino <1000025641.jpg> On Thu, Jan 8, 2026, 9:45 AM Alyssa Johnson <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> 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": "The 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
