Signs of Spring on the Way in Oswego's Parks

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The earth laughs in flowers."

My family is joyously, if not a little impatiently waiting for a little giggle.  Early Spring in the Midwest is a time when we throw down the mittens and throw off the heavy winter coat.  This is partnered with knowing a coldness that goes bone deep because it is just not warm enough for that yet.  Somehow 50 degrees in March should feel a bit warmer than 50 degrees in November. 

If you are willing to dress for the cold April days, the has many places to watch the season come to life.  Last week my family bundled up and took a walk through Saw Wee Kee Park.  The meandering trails and surprising hills of this wild park warmed us up in no time.  We saw Spring waking in the forest.  An occasional skunk cabbage or wild ginger flower was poking through the underbrush.  The world smelled like it was beginning to thaw.  Sunshine found its way to our faces and it felt good to be outside again.

, off of Reservation Road also has a nice trail through woods.  If you walk quietly enough, you might see the deer, squirrel and other woodland animals that frequent this park.  Wildlife is returning all over the area.  Sandhill Cranes honk over our heads at .  More water birds find their way to this lake each day, joining muskrats that busily swim by, not minding the cold water at all.  Trees are starting to show evidence of the busy work of Spring beavers.  Their work can be seen at as well.

This week, the Natural Resources and Operations Department did a prescribed burn over at the Lakeview Prairie and Wetlands letting the prairie floor stimulate its own new growth and restore native plants and prairie grasses. Those taking a stroll through this unique ecosystem should start to hear the chorus of frogs as the temperatures rise.  The robins have come home joining the cardinals and red winged blackbirds.

This week’s bended green reed in the middle of park will be next week’s first violet. By month’s end, the park will be home to a splendid purple carpet for all those who drive along Route 25.  I invite you to stop this Spring.  Those brown branches will be covered in fresh green foliage before we know it.  Go watch the buds burst and the new leaves unfurl before your eyes this month.  Take a walk on the Violet Patch bridge.  Spot one of our eagles.  Watch the river come to life in this season.

Cabin fever is an illness for which we have a cure.  Bundle up, and get outside.  Walk the Waubonsie Trail from up to .  At dusk, Look for the owl that lives in the trees by the savannah.  In the morning, watch the world wake up.  Take some time this month to watch it wake up right into a beautiful Spring.

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