Tomorrow morning, March 20, 2014 at 11:57 am, it will officially be Spring. The temperatures are still below normal, but there are little teases to make me a believer. Two years ago it was 80 degrees. That is what living in Wisconsin is all about. You never know what the next day will bring as far as the weather is concerned.
The Sandhill Cranes are back. We heard them before we saw them. I heard a group of Sandhills were seen in Rock County Wisconsin traveling with two Whooping Cranes. I'm hoping I will see some Whooping Cranes this spring. Hopefully the eight that were raised nearby will return to the area.
I wrote about the River Otter and the Eagle a few days ago. http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/03/the-river-otter-and-eagle.html I was worried that the Eagle had eaten an otter for dinner, but I was wrong. The otters are hale and hearty. We had at least four of them out on our pond last weekend. The otters always look so happy. They play and splash around. They can hold their breath for eight minutes so they dive down in one area and come up a long ways away. They can even choose when to have their young. They have something called delayed implantation. After they mate, the female can have fertilized eggs in her uterus for up to nine months but once it is implanted, the baby otters are ready to be born in 60 days. I'm not sure what factor triggers the implantation. Maybe it's even the weather.
The mail lady stopped today with a package. She asked me if we had seen any new animals out on the marsh. I told her about the otters. She said "did you shoot them"? I was shocked and said that the only shooting I do is with a camera. She said "but they eat all the fish". I told her they could have all they want. I wonder how many others think the way she does. I hope not many but I'm afraid in this area she is the majority.
The red winged blackbirds have also returned.
Hopefully in a couple weeks I will be able to report the return of many more of our favorite wildlife.