Romancing Spring
February 2, 2024
The days are definitely getting longer, my friend, just as surely as the nights are that much shorter. The change might seem incremental, but it’ll soon pick up speed - it always does, have some faith.
In a few short weeks even our hens will know Spring is on the way, and they’ll start to lay again. The “pineal gland” in their brain monitors the amount of daylight and in the Fall, as the days get shorter, the gland triggers an uptick in melatonin which allows the hens to “rest and rejuvenate”. We have 50 laying hens and are currently collecting about 6 eggs a day - that’s a lot of rest and rejuvenation. Last Fall we put a light on in their coop to trick them into laying all winter. Clearly, they weren’t fooled. In the coming weeks, though, when their pineal glands detect an uptick in daylight, they will indeed come back online. The Spring Equinox is March 19th and marks 12 hours of daylight, which in theory is what our feathered freeloaders need to start laying again. Put it on your calendar.
Our skunk cabbage is pushing its way up through frosty ground, melting the snow and ice around it as it does. It stores starch during the summer and as it wakes up in the spring, it burns the starch to create its own heat source. Even when the ambient temperature is below freezing, skunk cabbage can raise its own internal temperature to 70 degrees. Being the only blooming game in town right now gives it a monopoly on any pollinators that might be out and about.
The willow trees in our pastures are sporting branches which are decidedly more yellow than they were a couple weeks ago, and the young red maple branches have a reddish hue. The sap is beginning to flow in the sugar maples and we’ll tap ours this week. The trees clearly know that spring is on the way, even if you remain doubtful.
This time of year is more than just the beginning of so much more. It’s a long drawn-out courtship complete with anticipation and longing. Springtime is quite literally a budding romance, we just need to teach ourselves to celebrate those buds as much as we do the flowers.
