What’s Your Sign (of Spring)?

Old Man Winter is like the Kraken, a vile, gangly force unleashed upon us, one that repeatedly whomps its icy claws across the land and sends us scurrying into our dark, crowded mouse holes where we cower, shivering, until the creature returns from whence it came.

Right now, there are signs that Old Man Winter is retreating back to the depths, but he rarely disappears at once. He withdraws, and sinks, then changes his mind and resurfaces, bringing with him another surge of frigid intensity. We, his vassals, execute another mass retreat.

We know Old Man Winter cannot linger forever, just as we know he’s destined to return.

But malnourished spirits are nothing if not hopeful, and brief flashes of sushine send us outside during Winter’s brief respites, bounding upon the hills, singing loudly under our breath in the ebullience of spring’s memory.

As we march over the landscape, we note each tiny shred of avian, botanical, or astronomical evidence that spring, in its quiet slumber, has not forsaken us.

To this growing body of evidence traded on social channels, I submit my own observations:

• Friday was a sunny, sunny day. As I drove along a country road, I watched  two American Crows mob a Red-tailed Hawk. The Red-tailed was chill as he circled in a tight little radius, the two crows in perturbed pursuit. But it unfolded slowly, as if in slow motion.
• On Saturday, along a different country road, two small birds whizzed past my windshield in front of the car. As they landed on a roadside tree, their blue feathers splayed out as the birds came to full stops. They were male and female Eastern Bluebirds, perhaps pairing up for a summer fling?
• My neighbor’s daffodils have sprouted, showcasing a full inch of stem!

My final piece of evidence that spring is nigh is that I’m in the mood to clean. Heavily. I am resisting this urge with all my might (I have blogs to write, after all) but at some point spring may have its own brutal way with me.

I hope your spring comes faster, brighter, and better than you imagined. What sorts of evidence are you gathering this week?