pring - Green Again!

Usually in April the snow starts melting, and we have a time called BREAK-UP. NO ONE likes breakup. It can be a real mess. The snow melts from the heat of the sun in the lengthening daylight, and freezes to ice in the below freezing temperatures at night. This makes the roads really treacherous for driving.

(photo � 2000 Barbara Logan)
Pussy Willows along the Chena River, April 2000

Late April to mid-May, things start turning green again. I love this time of year! The trees change practically overnight, from plain gray or brown branches one day, they are covered with a haze of green buds the next. The pussy willows cover the willow trees. Within a week most trees are covered with leaves. The wild rose bushes are covered with pink roses by the end of May. Many other wild flowers and wild berries grow rapidly in the lengthening daylight. By spring we are already getting more than 14 hours of daylight. It is wonderful to see the seasons changing throughout the year. It is one of the things I like most about Alaska.

(photo � 1996 Barbara Logan)
Wild Roses in our yard, May 1996

The migratory birds return from the southern regions of the globe and the skies are filled with them. In late April we celebrate their return at Creamer's Field, a stopover sanctuary for the migrating birds. Grain is scattered on the large field to attract the birds. People come to view and photograph many kinds of migratory waterfowl including geese, ducks, swans and cranes. Most of the birds continue north to the tundra on the north slope of Alaska, where they will nest and raise young, but some stay around Fairbanks.

(photo � 2000 Barbara Logan)
Canada Geese at Creamer's Field, April 2000

In April the American Robins and other songbirds come back from their winter migration and stay in the Fairbanks area to nest and raise their young. We have seen many of them in our neighborhood. We regularly see American Robins, Bohemian Waxwings, Black Capped Chickadees, Warblers, Juncos, Swallows and Sparrows each year visiting our yard and garden. Various kinds of ducks nest in local ponds, and near the Chena and Tanana Rivers and sloughs. Some ducks have actually been seen staying here all winter! It is always fun to watch the ducklings in the river following their parents.

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This page was last updated 25 January 2004 � Barbara Logan
URL is http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~soakbear/spring.htm