Chuck Lura

Are you anxious to see the return of ruby-throated hummingbirds? If so, now might be a good time to start cleaning up the feeders and setting them out, because they usually start showing up around early May.

We seldom give plant sex much consideration, but some species of flowering plants produce flowers with both male and female reproductive structures in the same flower (perfect flowers). Most of the plants you are familiar with are in that category. Other species produce separate male and female flowers on the same plant.

Spring is often punctuated by a series of new sights and sounds as winter gives way to summer. It seems like each new sighting of a bird, for example, is duly noted and announced to others. Sighting the first robin of the season is probably the best example, but don’t forget to pay attention to the many other varied sounds of spring.

If you grew up in or before the 1950s or 1960s, butterflies were likely a common sight during the summer months, including monarchs, painted ladies, red admirals, swallowtails, blues, whites, sulphurs, and mourning cloaks. Many kids even had butterfly collections. That is not the case these days. Things have changed, and not in a good way.

It is officially spring. The spring equinox, you may recall, occurred back on March 20. And if your senses seem to have been dulled a little over the winter months, getting out in nature can help give them a boost. Consider going for a walk through the woods, grassland, or other places to soak up what nature has to offer in the spring. And while you are out there, keep an eye out for deer sheds, or perhaps elk and moose for that matter.

Most everyone has heard the news of the tragic passing of two-time Academy Award winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife (Betsy Arakawa). His wife, you may recall, died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). Hantavirus exists in North Dakota, and a reminder of the virus and disease might be helpful and timely.

I happened to notice that Dances with Wolves was running on one of the cable stations recently. That 1990 film starring Kevin Costner had some great scenes of bison herds and a bison hunt. I could not help but imagine what those immense herds of bison looked like before European settlement.

If you have not seen any Canada geese yet this year, you should soon. The migration is on, and some stay in the state year-round — for example, along the Missouri River.

Kelly’s Slough National Wildlife Refuge, near Grand Forks, is well-known to area bird enthusiasts as being a great place to do some bird watching, particularly during the spring and fall migrations. Depending upon weather, bird watching should be quite good from around the late March through May.

Are you ready for spring? March 1 is the first day of meteorological spring, while the spring equinox which marks the first day of astronomical spring is coming up on March 20. As that old saying goes “if March comes in like lamb it goes out like a lion” and vice versa.