The suckers are running.
Opinions vary on the official sign that spring has sprung. Could be the first sighted robin. Maybe the vernal equinox. The opening day of baseball season, the Final Four, or The Master's golf tournament all scream spring to sports fans. My parents cry "spring" when the maple sap begins to flow. For me spring arrives when there are suckers in Armstrong River.
Suckers are a bottom feeding rough fish that leave lakes each spring to spawn in rivers and streams. Obviously (hopefully) they swim on these spawning journeys, not physically run, but the term used for the event is a "spawning run". Thus, the suckers are running.
Most years these fish don't show up in our river until the very last days of April at the earliest, and more often than not the calendar reads "May" before they arrive. Like everything else this year, they've arrived earlier than we can ever remember. Regardless of month or timing, their presence confirms that winter is done and spring has taken hold. If the fish are in streams then the lakes are ice free and water temps have warmed. If it's warm enough to vanish ice it's warm enough to thaw soil; the ground begins to green, tree buds begin to swell, gardeners begin to twitch. Oh sure, snowflakes and frost are still on the menu in Northern MN until at least the 4th of July, but I'm telling you - if the suckers are running then spring is here. End of discussion.
Suckers swimming on Easter Sunday seems like a powerful omen of rebirth, renewal, return. It's time to blog again. Three months have passed since my last post. Three very full months. On New Year's Eve I wrote about my OneWord2017 which was/is "evolve". I wasn't planning to evolve away from blogging but I've made an effort to evolve away from unnecessary tasks that felt like chores. Blogging had become a chore, so I quit. But I've kind of missed it. Occasionally. So I'm back but not making promises. I used to make an effort to blog twice a week - I'm now hoping for once. I used to write a mix of education and nature topics - my interest in education is fading fast so I may have to rethink the title of this operation.
I write for me, but I do appreciate the requests I've received these last few months to write more. Thank you for your patience - I hope your wait will be rewarded with some interesting observations. I've got ideas and plans.....but the sucker run doesn't last forever, so neither does this post.
