Spring Tease
Capturing the season's ever-changing essence.
For those of us who’ve lived here “forever,” we know it’s not yet time to resign our winter clothes into the far reaches of the closet. Nope, spring is “flighty as a feather in the wind”—a sentiment I try every year to capture with my camera.
The season begins in March. A miserable month. Even the local avian species residing in the south know not to migrate north. But as the month fades, leaves start to bud out, bears come out of hibernation, and the snow geese start trickling in.
April can tempt us into relief, but it’s always cut off by wet, heavy snow. Winter tires are not ready to come off, nor are the shovels ready to be tucked into corners of the shed. The trees are confused as they sport fluorescent buds, only to have layers of snow crack their limbs or send them bending to the ground. A big boar grizzly in Yellowstone lumbers onto a half-eaten carcass with snow swirling around him.
By late April, a pair of turkey vultures return from the south and do their soaring in the skies above Bozeman. But within a few days, they’re hunkered on branches as another storm swirls around—the birds surely wishing they were still in Arizona. Ducks have found ice-free ponds and started their frenzied quest for mates. Meanwhile, on shore, pasque flowers burst free. It’s amazing how these beautiful purple flowers exist in a freezing environment for four to six weeks.
As May tries to claim the title of “spring,” tulips abound in town while the hillsides bask in the yellow of arrowleaf balsamroot. These flowers seemingly erupt overnight in their brilliance.
All seems quiet until dark clouds once again plunder and pillage, bringing wind and cold rain that pelts our faces as we’re biking, walking, and jogging on slick, muddy trails. Hail is often included. The birds are thoroughly confused, just like us, as the hail gives way to a snowstorm that should have come three months earlier.
June can’t come soon enough.
Carol Polich teaches photography through the OLLI/MSU program. She freelances year-round, which keeps her immersed and stimulated when behind the lens of her camera.
