Almost

With overnight temperatures in the 20’s and the daylight hours barely entering the low 40’s, this doesn’t feel much like spring. New spring growth isn’t pushing through anywhere just yet, and snow is forecast for Wednesday. And yet, the signs are that spring is just on the edge of happening, needing only a few warm days before it pops out in its full glory.

I suspect spring will not waste a moment once that happens. It just won’t be this week.

I actually like this time of year, these moments after the snow is gone but before the greenery appears. The skiers have left the mountain, so it is quiet. The animals and birds who live here are much more active now than they were doing winter. Then, I could sit by a window and hours could pass before anything other than the feeder birds appeared.

Now, it’s rare that 5 minutes pass without something interesting going on. The red-bellied woodpeckers are trying to evict a starling from a nest hole they appear to favor. The turkey vultures ply the air, and red-trailed hawks drift past the window. Crows are out being the busybodies they like to be. Squirrels dance from bough to branch, bouncing from twig to tree.

And because the greenery is not yet appearing, I can see all that. Once the forest acquires its summer canopy, my own view is pretty limited to a few, tiny holes directly above the cabin. I prefer today’s more open view, where I can see over to the next mountain and watch the drama of the woodpeckers, all from inside the cabin with a cup of coffee in my hand and my binoculars by my side.