Spring is coming, but very slowly. Last year, ice out on our pond was on March 28th. As of today, the pond is about one-third ice-free.
The ducks, though, have already taken advantage of the open water. Several Mallards arrived on Friday, when the patch of water was 20'x20', at most. A pair of mergansers - a male and female - arrived this morning. If you click on the picture to the left to enlarge it, you'll see the merganser pair near the middle of the photo, while some mallards are to the right.
But then there's this, from the National Weather Service. Spring may be coming, but it's taking its own sweet time:
1119 AM CDT SUN MAR 30 2008
...WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE MONDAY NIGHT...
HEAVY WET SNOW MAY DEVELOP ACROSS SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA MONDAY MORNING. THE THREAT FOR HEAVY WET SNOW WILL THEN SPREAD NORTHEAST ACROSS THE TWIN CITIES METROPOLITAN AREA AND POINTS NORTH DURING THE LATE MORNING AND ACROSS MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN BY EARLY MONDAY AFTERNOON. THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY SNOW WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE WATCH AREA THROUGH MUCH OF MONDAY NIGHT BEFORE DIMINISHING BY DAYBREAK TUESDAY. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 INCHES OR MORE ARE POSSIBLE BY LATE MONDAY NIGHT.
A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.
HEAVY WET SNOW MAY DEVELOP ACROSS SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA MONDAY MORNING. THE THREAT FOR HEAVY WET SNOW WILL THEN SPREAD NORTHEAST ACROSS THE TWIN CITIES METROPOLITAN AREA AND POINTS NORTH DURING THE LATE MORNING AND ACROSS MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN BY EARLY MONDAY AFTERNOON. THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY SNOW WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE WATCH AREA THROUGH MUCH OF MONDAY NIGHT BEFORE DIMINISHING BY DAYBREAK TUESDAY. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 INCHES OR MORE ARE POSSIBLE BY LATE MONDAY NIGHT.
A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.
