Developing skunk cabbage plants in wetlands across Central Pennsylvania, with their own internal furnaces capable of generating enough heat to stay 60 degrees or more warmer than surrounding air temperatures, shrugged off this weekend's late-winter snow.
In one signal of the spring that is taking hold across the region, the odiferous plants simply melted the snow from little circles surrounding themselves.
The rare snow-removal method of the thermogenic plants is just one of an abundance of signs that spring is bearing down upon us.
Flocks of robins are showing up backyards across the midstate.
The first salamanders are show up in vernal ponds in their annual mating migrations.
Perched atop bullrush stalks, red-winged blackbirds are staking out their territories in meadows and wetlands for the upcoming mating.
Painted turtles emerge from the depths on sunny, warmer days for a bit of basking on exposed logs and boulders.
Woodcock are twittering in the courtship flights in shrublands.
Share your observations of approaching spring. Post them as comments here or send them by email to nature writer Marcus Schneck at firstname.lastname@example.org.