Signs of spring – bulbs and borers

As of March 1 here in the woods of West Chicago; the snow drops are popping up through the last vestiges of crusty snow cover, plus all the ash on our property, and every ash in our wooded environ have been stripped of their bark by hungry woodpeckers these last few months in hot pursuit of EAB (Emerald Ash Borer) which is now engulfing our entire Chicago land area. Sooner than we though and so swiftly! The thought of a landscape devoid of all ash trees-quite sad.

Lg. flowering Snowdrops, first to show up in late winter