Phenology in Fast Forward

I woke up this morning in a hotel room in North Carolina, with Mockingbirds outside, a nest on top of every lamp post, singing their little hearts out, mocking car alarms and wailing sirens.

I stepped outside, barefoot, onto warm pavement, to find a brand new chick pecking at sand under my front tire - spring is fully-fledged, here. When we left Maine, …