Signs of Spring

I love spring!  After such a long and cold winter here, I am certainly welcoming some above freezing temperatures, as well as a little more sunshine.  This week and last week, we have received an abundance of rain, however.  So much so that we have gotten quite a lot of water in the basement of our older home.  No standing water or anything, but we have had to move a number of things off of the floor to keep them from getting wet, and we are now running our dehumidifier on full blast all of the time to keep up with all of the moisture. 

I’ll certainly take some rain over frigid winter temperatures, though.  I am also not taking the rain for granted, either, since I’m well aware of many areas around the world that are now experiencing record-breaking drought conditions, and my prayers go out to all of you going through that. 

I like spring because everything seems to awaken from its long winter slumber and comes back to life and grows.  Along with the increase in plant growth, there is plenty of wildlife that appears, and songbirds arrive, returning from their winter migration routes.  I’m enjoying the bird songs in the morning, which is something that we can easily overlook.  To me, the bird singing is quite beautiful, and it’s well worth the time to notice it.

Over the past few weeks, we have had quite a lot of wildlife activity around here.  In addition to the multiple squirrels that have been digging in my garden area (I am trying to make peace with them even though they can be a nuisance sometimes), I have seen rabbits and many birds.  Here are a few pictures of the furry and feathered friends hanging around my house right now.  I apologize for the poor quality of some of the pictures.  They were shot from inside my house through our windows, and this affected the clarity.

Mr. Bun, and Ms. Bunnette, two “twitterpated” rabbits (a Bambi movie reference, for those of you unfamiliar with the term “twitterpated”) hanging around my herb spiral two weeks ago.

Mr. Bun, sitting alone…

This little guy was fascinated with his own reflection and continued to try to fly at it, up and down my neighbor's windshield, and peck at it.  My suspicion is that it was a male who thought that his own reflection was another male trying to get in on his territory...  He was there for a couple of hours, and came back several days in a row.  Early on, what was likely the female nearby, got tired of waiting for him, and flew off.  I could picture her saying, "Come on already, Joe!  I'm tired of this, let's go home!"

Squiggy the Squirrel (or one of his friends), digging in my mulched garden area.

I am learning to appreciate every season for what it brings.  Winter has been one of the last ones for me to gain appreciation for, since it is so cold and dark.  However, it does bring a time of rest and reflection, a time that we can sit back and contemplate what has been and what can be.  It also makes spring all the more beautiful to those of us living in a temperate climate, and allows us to appreciate the awakening, growth, and cleansing that comes with it.