Yesterday, those of us who weren’t working or at baseball practice went for a walk in the woods to find signs of spring.
At the bottom of the hill, we found our first sign: the temporary creek that always appears as the snow begins to melt. It’s trickling along ever-so-slowly now, but we predict that it will be much higher and gushing as the weather warms. (Note to weather: please feel free to warm up any time now.)
Lily discovered that you can pull delicate, magical-looking pieces of ice from the creek. Will explained that these sheets of ice form because the water on top of the creek freezes at night. And when the weather warms up again during the day, the ice on top starts to melt a little so these bits are easy to pick off. Makes sense to me.
We followed the creek for a while, then took a break to enjoy the quiet and stillness of the woods.
(I’m so fascinated by Layla and her love of ice and snow. I googled Labrador retriever once and learned that Layla’s ancestors were bred to help fishermen pull nets out of the icy waters of Labrador and Newfoundland. Which explains Layla’s huge shoulders and her obsession with our little ice rink. She loves nothing more than to lay in the middle of the ice while we skate around her.)
Lily noticed leaf prints in the snow. Can you see the shape of the leaf?
On the way home, Will pointed out a flock of Canada geese flying north in a V-formation above us. Another sign of spring! And just now as I was typing, I heard someone chirping outside. Which is one of my favorite signs.
Has spring arrived where you live? Do you have a favorite sign that marks its arrival?
when the headline on the sports page reads “pitchers and catchers report to spring training”. during the masters golf tournament, the azaleas and dogwoods in full bloom such that you can almost smell them on the tv and ray charles or willy nelson singing “georgia on my mind”. the grass so green, that we can’t be too far behind ourselves.
If only…