March madness?

So many things compete for our attention these days - healthcare reform and March madness - NCAA basketball tournament, among others. I will settle for just being outside on these beautiful 70 degree days. We are clearing away some monstrous multiflora rose bushes. I played golf yesterday. The mud along the hiking trail is mostly dried up (for now).

I saw the first bluet and spring beauty wildflowers today. Toothwart is just starting to appear. There is a gnarly black-looking algae in the stream; hope it goes away soon. Heard the first rufous-sided towhee today. A small garter snake slithered along the stepping stone at the start of the trail. We saw several tick-size orange bugs today on elm trees and nearby ground ivy - any idea what those are? Some kind of mite, maybe. We have never seen those before.

Bittersweet Woods is coming alive again. Life is good.