The Battle Has Begun

Rabbits enjoy greens and sunshine!

Is it winter?  Is it spring?





                                                                         




Sap is moving throug the trees.

Last week I worked in the studio with the garage door open, sunlight streamed into my space, birds were singing and my little dogs lay in the sun.  I walked past a clump of snowbells that were blooming and I heard the honeybees singing as they moved from bloom to bloom.  I also noticed as I drove through a forest of old trees that the ground was beginning to show green.  All the little signs of spring around the corner.  The trees are also coming alive as the sap slowly moves from the ground upward toward the branches.

Snowbells and no snow (this day)

deer are easier to see when snow is on the ground....

Then it happened, as sunrise came it revealed the tell tale sign that winter had visited in the night.  We were reminded that it is only February.  Snow lay on the ground, covering those tender signs of spring sprouts.  At last after a very mild winter, we have some measurable snow.  It is pretty as sunlight creates sparkles on the landscape. The wind blows across the open fields, causing momentary white outs.  And as the wind picks up it shakes the all snow from the pines and the needles whistle a haunting song of winter.  The birds are eagerly at the feeder, their activity makes the trees alive with fluttering movement.  I do love watching the birds.  While most were hungry for seeds, a larger bird came calling.  A Coopers Hawk came to sit in the tree branches near our back door, hoping for his own special breakfast this day.  All the little birds sounded an alert and took cover and they waited until he left, still hungry.


hungry birds....

I linger a little longer with a cup of coffee and pull my afghan around me, my fuzzy socks peeking out and think I would like to hibernate just a little longer.  I'll wait to see who wins today, winter or spring...................