Hold Off On The Carrots

As of 4:08 pm on Saturday, March 25, the first robin was seen in Bashaw Township, 4 miles west of Shell Lake.

Robins have always been one of the first summer birds that shows up in March, but not everyone knows that many other birds show up at the end of the month acting as ‘scouts’ for the rest of their kind.

These are the birds that come early and check out the area for safe housing in the specific trees where they prefer to nest. If you’ve noticed, some birds like their nests only three or four feet off the ground, others like to have their pouch nests high in the trees on a branch that allows the nest to swing back and forth. Some local birds prefer the ground in the middle of a cow field and others make their really sloppy homes near the base of a shrub, only to watch it fall apart before their baby’s even fledge.

Some birds are very territorial, even with their own kind, wanting to be the only ones who are nesting in a wide area.

There is local folk lore concerning the robins which is often true; “Snow three times on a robin’s back.”

So, don’t plant your carrots yet, despite the warming temperature, there’s still snow coming, evidently three more times according to local legend. 

By Good Friday you should be able to trade your show shovel for a garden shovel and plant your peas and potatoes on that day; oddly enough both these crops love the cold ground.

Unlike most of us.