By land, air and water, swing time for seasons arrived in the last 10 days.
By land
On Thursday, Chris Hough of La Grange Park emailed: ‘‘The crocus in my backyard finally started to bloom today (my son took the pic). A couple of weeks later than last year.’’
By air
Red-winged blackbirds appeared.
Todd Cubbon emailed he saw his first at his feeder Saturday in Crete, noting: ‘‘Poor guy may have come north a little early.’’
On Sunday, John Dignin mentioned he spotted his first red-winged blackbird in the southwest suburbs.
Also Sunday, Gary Bloom messaged from the Chain O’Lakes: ‘‘First red-winged blackbird singing. Also doves doing their mating flights. Cooing, too.’’
Jim Hantak had his first red-winged blackbird at his feeder Monday in Hillside.
I’ve yet to see one. I’ve seen plenty of doves and a pair of Eurasian collared-doves.
Sandhill cranes are moving, too.
Hantak’s wife saw and heard a large sedge while geocaching Feb. 25 in North Riverside, noting: ‘‘Too high in the air to count, but it was still good to hear their rattling call.’’
Tom Jurich emailed Feb. 25 that he heard and saw sandhills headed north over Munster, Indiana.
By Sunday, running our daughter back to graduate school, I spotted hundreds of sandhills flying and on the ground in northwest Indiana. I also saw a flock of snow geese, small by their standards.
By water
As waters opened up, anglers caught big fish in the last week.
Kevin Matos caught his personal-best fish, a lake trout of 40-plus inches and 28-plus pounds, Feb. 25 while fishing with his dad near Chicago Light. It came on a blade bait on 10-pound monofilament on a spincaster.
‘‘Credit goes to my father, Dave Matos, for extensive knowledge of the lake,’’ he said.
Dan Kiska messaged he caught a 37-inch northern pike, good-sized but with a messed-up lip, on Sunday from the Des Plaines River.
Jeffrey Williams got in his first Riverwalk action last weekend and messaged: ‘‘Crappies are HOT.’’
In a group effort Friday, they caught so many they lost count. He was back solo Sunday and totaled 14 crappie and a largemouth bass.
‘‘Almost every crappie was between 9 and 12 inches,’’ he messaged.
Jimmy Pape caught the biggest walleye he ever put his hands on Sunday out of the DuPage River.
‘‘Wish I had a tape with me,’’ he messaged. ‘‘Wasn’t really expecting that. Caught her on a black-and-blue bucktail jig I made myself. I laid her next to my spinning rod for a measurement and comparison: 27 or 28 inches and maybe around 8 or 9 pounds, I’d say.’’
It’s finally time.
Stray cast
Given the task of filleting a fish, DOGE would gut and behead it, then consider it done.
