Last year, we had one of those gradual easings into spring. I remember it snowed in early April (which is common enough around here, to my chagrin), and the accumulated snow from the entire winter took ages and ages to thaw. The one benefit to that was that we had a relatively mild “mud season” because the liquid was absorbed slowly into the ground.
Not this year. This year we have mud up to our ankles on the trail. It’s still cold out at night and in the mornings, but warm afternoons and some good rains have melted even the stubborn icy pile on our deck clean away. As I look out the window right now, I can see the entire lawn, clear of snow. I guess it’ll be just a matter of weeks until the grass is a foot high and we’ll be wishing we had sheep.
Aside from the reappearance of the lawn, other signs of spring include robins plucking worms from the yard; the finches beginning to turn from greenish brown to yellow; a poor confused garter snake on the trail the other day (sure, it’s spring, but it’s still pretty darn cold!); an abundance of duck eggs from Hyla’s teacher’s ducks:
crocuses popping up in front of Hyla’s school:
kids playing freeze tag in the field behind her school:
the front garden soil, exposed for the first time since last November:
piglets at the nearby farm, soaking up the sun:
the reappearance of Lisa, the “Hot Dog Lady”, in Hanover:
and spiffy new boots for Hyla and Rebecca:
Grongar 