Of course, you want to step out. March temperatures in northern Minnesota change day to day with highs popping up and down above and below freezing. H20 keeps changing from snow on the ground, ice over the water, and absence in the atmosphere to frozen crust in the forest, fogging high humidity, and current opening rivers.
From one month to the next and over the course of a couple of weeks, winter festivals, dogsled and ski races, and snow sculptures were replaced by spring breaks, film festivals, and field trips. And dark sky events. Snowshoes can be set aside. Cross-country ski, walk the dog, and explore a forest or wetland by walking on the potentially thickening crust of snow.
Owls, ravens, eagles and jays are all engaged in some stage of nesting. The last sightings of wintering redpolls, pine grosbeaks, snowy owls, pine siskins, northern shrikes and other birds make the feeding of winter birds less productive and potentially troublesome. Concerns already increased about intentionally feeding or because of certain forms of bird feeding. And with March leading towards Spring, there are reports of the first sightings of mammals.
