Traces of early spring include the feathery tops of the asparagus (like this), and now we are awaiting the berries—rasp- and blue-. I caught this version of the asparagus at dawn, before the sun had reached the field over the woods, which distorted the sky color almost this dramatically (thank you, wee new camera).
JCB and the Botanist pared back several trees, and discovered the balsam out front is dying. Evidence: substantial holes through the bark made by those strong-headed birds, the woodpeckers.