Spring is in the air!

A friend in the south mentioned that they are expecting 80's this weekend! We are nowhere near that. We still have snow on the ground (especially in the big piles), but the weather is improving. I'll take 50's over teens any day!

Yesterday it was warm enough that the kids and I went for a walk. We saw all sorts birds! Sparrows, finches, crows, a blue jay (which was screeching!), a possible robin, ducks, and red-winged blackbirds. This is the first sighting of red-winged blackbirds this spring for us. I love red-winged blackbirds. Kiddo remembered this when we heard them, which touched my heart. I love them because my mother loved them. My mother loved them because her father loved them. Maybe my kids will love them because I do.

Later in the day, we stepped outside and heard the creek behind our house rushing. We HAD to investigate, of course. Our creek is really just drainage, so melting snow and rain make it flow much more than normal. It flows into a small river that is just a bit away from our house--the yard two houses over touches the river. The river is expected to flood in the next few days.



It was beautiful. Kiddo explored closer to it than Kutey and I. He loved it. Awesome. Nature is awesome.



We saw a fairly new looking woodpecker hole up in one of our dead trees. Kiddo noticed all the older holes first (they are numerous). But this one looked fairly fresh.



We also noticed deer tracks in the snow. We see them sometimes in the summer, but I haven't seen them this winter. Obviously they have been around, though!

It was refreshing to be able to be back in the great outdoors. I was born and raised here, but the cold of winter still gets me. I don't tolerate it well, so this day, this warmth was a gift.