How Time Flies

Late winter uncertainties

David Lukas

21 Feb 2026 • 5 min read

An early sign of spring? Photo by David Lukas

Well, this has been an interesting week. One moment, it feels like spring is just around the corner, and the next moment, we're getting fresh snow, with temperatures dropping into the low teens.

Week in Review

When there's no snow for skiing, winter can turn into a tiresome succession of cold, gray days, but even if you love winter, there comes a point when all of us start longing for spring. I realized that I'd reached that point this week when I found myself spending an inordinate amount of time lingering around a patch of green algae, photographing tiny flies.

I saw my first midge of the year on this roadside pool of algae. Photo by David Lukas

I always check out this spot along Highway 20, just above Early Winters, because it melts early, and it's often the first place I see butterflies in early spring. I didn't see any butterflies this week, but the roadside runoff was bright green with algae and had attracted a surprising number of small animals.

insect larvae — Is this a mosquito larva getting ready to hatch? Photo by David Lukas

The water was covered with springtails. They might have been dead, but some were waving their legs and antennae. I'm guessing they were trapped while trying to migrate to their breeding areas. Photo by David Lukas

So, that was on a warm, sunny day at the beginning of the week, when it felt like spring was already here; then the weather did a 180-degree turn and winter returned with several days of snow and temperatures dropping into the teens.

sun halo — Halos around the sun are created by high-altitude ice crystals on the leading edge of an incoming storm system. Photo by David Lukas

icy waterfall — Even if it's warm in the sun, you don't have to work too hard to see that winter is still with us. Photo by David Lukas

In terms of wildlife, this felt like a very slow, quiet week. Despite getting out on several outings, I had to work really hard to find any activity. All the early plants, insects, and singing birds that I'd been noticing over the past couple of weeks seemed to disappear with the arrival of frigid temperatures.

These snowbrushes may have been basking in the sun when the snow melted last week, but I wonder how they're doing now? Photo by David Lukas

The only notable change in bird behavior I've noticed has been the sudden appearance of dark-eyed junco groups in the past week. Juncos move around the valley all the time, so this observation may not mean anything, but I pay attention to juncos because migrating juncos typically arrive early in the valley and start piling up as they eagerly wait for mountain meadows to melt out.

Observation of the Week: Ice-Marginal Lakes

One of the things we tend to overlook in the Methow Valley is that every aspect of our local landscape was shaped by massive glaciers that buried the valley in ice as recently as 10,000 years ago. It's easy to miss these clues today, but local glacier expert Alan Gillespie taught me to see one of the most obvious features staring us in the face every day.

Methow Valley view — Hidden in this typical view of the Methow Valley are a host of features left by Ice Age glaciers. Photo by David Lukas

Everywhere you look in the Methow Valley, you'll see small hillside gullies. I'd never thought twice about this because it seems obvious that gullies form on hillsides. But Alan pointed out that gullies can only form where there's a source of water, and these gullies start in the middle of hillsides where there's no source of water.

gullies on hillside — There's not enough water collecting on this hillside to create gullies, so you have to look for another explanation for how they formed. Photo by David Lukas

The only obvious answer is that these gullies formed around the perimeter of glaciers, when melting ice created what are called ice-marginal lakes that form where a glacier runs along a slope that constrains the glacier. These lakes then drain into the space between the glacier and the hillside, creating gullies.

Two views of how ice-marginal lakes and kame terraces form. Images by Caroline Taylor and Jenny Bilton

Ice-marginal lakes also gather sediments, and when the glacier melts, they leave behind flat ridges called kame terraces. These terraces are another prominent glacial feature found all over the Methow Valley.

Once you start looking, you'll discover glacial evidence everywhere in the valley; it's just a matter of learning how to see it.

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