Signs of Spring

The chickadees are at our birdfeeder in force.  It's still sunny at 7 o'clock.  We forgo our mittens when we go outside.  Someone rode his motorcycle down the street.

These are the signs of spring!

Also, there is no more snow on our deck!  We worked hard to get it that way - some shoveling here, some snowball throwing there - but finally our deck is 100% free of snow!  And this kid, despite how much he loved shoveling the deck all winter (and I do mean loved), was incredibly pleased to discover that he could finally run run run all over it.

He was also very interested in the birdhouse we wanted to hang in the tree...

...until we said it was time to hang the birdhouse, meaning he couldn't run around with it anymore.  

Life is rough :)


On a side note, Caleb is extremely attached to the little tractor in his hand.  That tractor (or its dreaded misplacement) can mean tears or no tears, panic or joy, anxiety or contentment.  He's been attached to it for months.  Other things come and go, but that tractor has remained a staple for awhile now.  I keep a keen eye on its whereabouts because if ever he distractedly sets it down, before too long he'll suddenly shout, "Tractor!" and all else stops while the frantic search begins.  It's a precious comfort to him.

But back to spring: it's almost here!  That's the point of the snow being gone from our deck, and the point of it being time to hang the birdhouse in the tree.  Winter has finally packed her bags and is just saying her final farewells before heading out the door.  And we wish her well! (We also secretly hope that she exhausted herself out from such a daring performance this year that she'll have to crawl rather than run to greet us next time.)

Welcome, Spring!  We welcome you with open arms and the pitter patter of little feet on our deck :)