As a child I was always exited to see snow falling, because it meant that fun times outdoors were soon to follow.
As an adult, it’s always a joy to see the first snowfall of the season. The charm is somewhat lost, however, after the second snowfall. And the third. And the fourth. And the fifth. And the….
St. Peter has already seen several heavy snowfalls since early December, and it appears that we will continue to get hit by these snowstorms, which means even more snow. And more plowing. And more scraping off our cars before we can drive to work in the morning.
If we do continue to accumulate large amounts of snowfall, then this spring could be interesting in terms of flooding from the MN River. It’s been several years since we had major flooding in these parts, and we are a little overdue for such an event. And the river actually needs it, considering how relatively dry the past few years have been.
There’s not a whole lot going on outside the Interpretive Center these cold days. There are still lots of cones on the spruces which occasionally attract a wandering flock of Pine Siskins. The crabapple trees and cranberry bushes produced a bounty of fruit this past year, and many overwintering American Robins have been taking advantage of this available food source. Yesterday a small group of Ring-necked Pheasants was even feeding in the crabapple trees, which perhaps is a testament to the difficulties faced by wildlife when the ground is covered in deep snow and ice.
But even though the days aren’t getting any warmer, they are indeed getting longer, which means the tides of spring are slowly turning our way. Until then, stay warm and enjoy the snow!