Tuesday, February 9, 2016

February 9, 2016 - Spring

Spring has arrived where I live. Birds have returned from their winter homes and are singing their little hearts out as I write this. It is 18 Celsius (65 F) outside. The snow and ice are fast melting away. Spring is VERY early.

I live in Alberta, Canada. Spring usually arrives sometime toward the middle of May. We didn't have much of a winter so the farmers won't be happy. They need the snow for water on their fields. But I'm complaining. I love spring. I hope spring is long this year. I love the bright greens on the trees. I love the birds as they return. Of course, this IS Alberta. We could get a blast-y old blizzard in a day or two and be right back in to winter for another week or more. But today it is spring. The deer and antelope should show their wary heads soon. They generally show up shortly after the first warm days have past. They are so beautiful. We don't get them in the yard but they do show up in the fields around us, off in the distance, staring at us as we drive by. The deer are small whitetails; the antelope have their stripes. Beautiful.

I live with my hubby in a rented mobile home on 80 acres near the Canada/US border. The nearest town is four miles or so away. Our landlord operates a horse and dog boarding kennel but we have nothing to do with that. We just benefit from the peace and tranquility of the place, although we don't have a front lawn or a yard that belongs to the house we live in. The property is well treed but surrounded by grain fields that are run by the local Hutterite colony. We won't hear the tractors for another month at least... if the weather holds it could be sooner, but generally they wait to be sure the weather doesn't kill the seeds before they start.

It is the birds we get to see the most often... sparrows, doves, robins, geese, the odd finch or other colourful bird, quail. Many kinds arrive and leave all spring, some just passing through, while others make their nests in the trees on the property. Some are vocal, others are more quiet. The doves, once they start, will call to each other throughout the day and evening. The sparrows chirp all the time. Right now I suspect is nest building time for most of them.

At any rate, spring is here for a day or two at least, perhaps for the rest of this early time of the year... and I'm happy that it has arrived.