Hi everyone! It is a beautiful, sunny day here and the temperature is supposed to be a nice 34F (1C) by this afternoon, and a bit warmer tomorrow. Monday and Tuesday are supposed to be even nicer. In fact, all of next week will be nice. Has spring decided to come early this year? I will not say that just yet, our spring weather can be very unpredictable and this is very early for spring to start.

Though it has been early like this before. We will see. It does get extra warm in here when the sun shines, which I do not mind. Unfortunately the sun is at the right spot now to shine in my eyes when I’m on my computer in the morning. That makes it a bit hard to see. I should really have curtains of some kind on this window, think I will look into doing that next week.

Even though this is a spring story, I will share some more winter photos with you.

But spring is in the air, even if it is not here yet, at least this time of year we can start to look for it. And dream about it. And hope it will be early. Even the birds get more excited this time of year. They begin their spring songs more earnestly now. Some are already building nests. Some birds already have babies in the nest, even with snow on the ground and possibly several more weeks before spring really arrives.

Those early spring days, once the snow has finally melted and the sun shines warmly during the day, they can be exciting. Especially after a long, cold winter. This winter has been mild, very mild actually, and very little snow. But, the arrival of spring is still exciting. Time when we can get out finally without having all those winter clothes on. It is a good time for hiking as well.

Just a few snowy photos.

I used to do a lot of hiking in the spring. It just always felt so good to get out and enjoy a sunny spring day, perhaps one with a light, warm breeze blowing from the south. A day like that would bring in a lot of our summer birds returning from the south. One such day I decided to head out for a hike, and as usual I stopped at my favorite restaurant for breakfast.

“What are you doing today Steve?” asked Krissy as she poured my coffee. She was on her way to give coffee to people at another table, so I just kind of mumbled a response. She came right back and sat on my lap. “Now, what did you say?” she asked again. So I told her. Then everyone began clapping for some reason. That brought Krissy’s mom out.

This is a deer trail through the snow which was about 30 inches, about 75cm, deep at this spot.

“Oh, that is why,” she said smiling, then she added, “yes, she can.” So, after breakfast Krissy and I went out to a particular spot I had wanted to check out. I parked the car among the trees and off we went. One thing about early spring hikes, there were no leaves on the bushes, so it was easy to see quite long distances, and it made for easier walking.

It was a lovely, warm day and there were birds singing in the trees everywhere. We then came to a creek that was about 12 feet wide (a bit more than 3 meters). Since it was spring, there was a lot of water in that creek. But there was a large tree that had fallen across the creek so that gave us an easy way to cross. Sort of. As long as we stayed on the tree.

This is a human trail through the snow.

Krissy wanted me to go first. Naturally. She followed close behind me, holding onto my backpack. Not the best arrangement I discovered. We were nearly across and we had to walk around a large branch on the tree. That is where Krissy slipped. And went down into the cold water of that creek. And since she was holding onto my backpack, I ended up in that cold water too.

We did not stay there long, however, we got ourselves out very quickly. But we were still wet. Very wet actually. Sigh. Hmm, guess we will need to finish this story next time. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2024 Steve McLeod.