Spring has long been my favorite season, primarily because the weather is so mutable. This week we topped 70 degrees, had fog and rain and a few sunbreaks, and some classic days of gray. Even better was the return of green as plants rioted out their leaves and flowers pushed out their advertisements seeking pollinators. Not to be outdone, birds were trilling and singing and calling and gracing the air with their songs and territorial announcements.

Here’s a sampling of what I have been seeing and hearing.

A Hearty RhodyDepending on your world view the rhododendron in our front yard is either half dead or half alive. I lean toward the latter. This plant is a survivor. When we moved into our house, we had two healthy, moderately sized rhodies in the front yard. One is now dead and one, the survivor, looks as if we had abused it, with several leafless limbs. I do admit that we subscribe to some tough love—if a plant cannot survive without us watering or attending to it, then it’ll probably be returning to the soil whence it came—but we don’t mistreat them. Over the years this rhody had suffered so we had trimmed it, hoping that it would put its energy into its remaining healthy parts. It has and each year continues to brighten our yard with a vernal burst of hot pink efflorescence.

Weed KillerI am not proud to admit to this sign of spring. As gazillions of plants push their way skyward, I change my status from mere mortal to someone deciding the fate of life and death: Which seedling will survive and which will be yanked from the ground, out of its womb, and die in our compost bin? I don’t have exact criteria; I tend to focus on smaller, weedy plants that I think will spread faster and farther if I don’t do something. These “offensive” plants include some small mustards, an aggressive mint, and a grass or two. I have mixed feelings about being a plant killer. I like that we have mostly native plants and these interlopers don’t necessarily benefit native animals. Nor do they benefit native plants, and, in some situations, may prevent natives from growing.

But I also know that I should be more tolerant. Instead of killing plants who are simply doing their thing, particularly ones that are able to grow in an urban environment, I should be celebrating them for their tenacity and adaptability. I do like to think that I have become more tolerant and pull up fewer plants than I used to but let’s cut to the chase, when spring arrives, I become a killer. For me, this is one of the great ironies of the season.

Bird SoundsI am one of those nutty, annoying morning people who wake up early and pop out of bed ready to go without need of coffee to evolve into a human. (I admit I do need coffee because I am addicted to it but that’s another issue.) Because of this tendency to wake early I have the pleasure of hearing birds singing loudly. As I have written before, I am not good at identifying song so I rely, like many, on the Merlin app to identify who is plying the airways. Below is a list generated at our house, when eight species were chorusing on Tuesday. While this may not be a high tally, it still was joyful that so many birds were singing, even at our house sandwiched between Interstate 5 and Aurora Avenue.

Animal EncountersI recently had the pleasure of meeting two babies, surely a sign of spring. My first encounter was sitting at my desk working on my computer. I had reached up to rub my head when I felt something odd and a bit squishy. I grabbed it and flung it on my desk; it was a half inch long slug. I had just returned from a bike ride and suspect that when I put my helmet down in the grass at the end of the ride, the slug had availed themself (slugs are hermaphrodites so they seems appropriate) of the cozy helmet and then found even greater joy latching onto my noggin, most likely not suspecting that they would soon be traveling far from home. After picking up the startled, and I hope, not too injured, mollusc from my desk, I placed them in a more suitable habitat, our yard.

Later in the day, we were eating dinner outside with friends when I noticed a string dangling from my ball cap. I was quite delighted to see it, as I have recently started wearing prescription glasses and I probably wouldn’t have noticed it previously. Reaching up to detach the string, I discovered a wee caterpillar dangling from it. I suspect that the little critter had latched on to my hat during a walk we had done at Magnuson Park. Once again, being the gentle soul I am, I returned the caterpillar to the wild, hoping that it makes wiser foraging decisions in the future.

Orwell - This is one of my favorite quotes from George Orwell, who was quite the devoted nature guy.“The point is that the pleasures of spring are available to everybody, and cost nothing. Even in the most sordid street the coming of spring will register itself by some sign or other, if it is only a brighter blue between the chimney pots or the vivid green of an elder sprouting on a blitzed site. Indeed, it is remarkable how Nature goes on existing unofficially, as it were, in the very heart of London.”George Orwell - Some Thoughts on the Common Toad - April 1946

May 6, 2026 - A Lake with No Limits - 5:30pm - Center for Wooden Boats - As part of an event co-sponsored by the Eastlake Community Council and the Floating Homes Association, I will be discussing the history of the Ship Canal and Locks. I will be joined by Anna Bachman, Clean Water Program Director for the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance. For further information.

May 7, 2026 - Seattle’s Locks and Ship Canal - 6pm - Ballard Locks - My co-author Jennifer Ott and I will be discussing the new edition of our book about the history of the Ship Canal and Locks. Some info on Facebook about the event.

I’d also like to recommend a podcast produced by my friend Shin Yu Pai: Ten Thousand Things. Shin Yu explores a collection of objects and artifacts that tell us something about Asian American life – from a second-hand novel to a blue suit worn by a congressman on January 6. Her show is informative, thought provoking, and fun. She starts her fifth season on May 5. Here’s a Spotify link to the trailer for the season.

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