Hush-up Groundhog! Spring is here!

Has that woodchuck ever lied to us?  When doesn't he?  He tells us Winter is over and we get two more months and three feet of snow.  He tells us Spring is a long way off and there's nary any snow.

This year isn't any different.  Old Phil was taken from his comfortable home in the library where he lives in semi-retirement with his wife Phyllis. (Do you think I make this up?  Google it, you'll be amused.)  His "handlers" - or as I prefer to call them "chimney sweeps" - put him in his stage prop stump, haul him out to the early morning chill and hold him up on display to the drunken crowd.  Hey, anything is a good reason to get drunk - right?  Seeing a woodchuck is as good a reason as any.

Supposedly, in that dark, dreary morning - amid hundreds of spotlights and camera flashes Phil saw his shadow.  

Well, duh!  

So anyway, we are left dreading another six weeks of winter.  So they think.  For starters, around here this is called "The Winter That Wasn't".  It's been warm and rainy more than anything.  Spring is here and I'll tell you how I know.

Here in the wine country of Lake Erie, 100+ miles north of Old Phil, we don't take directions from rodents.  If we did than Yuki and Nerf would get a lot more say around here.

Meet Yuki and Nerf and my "daughter" Rachel

No. Around here we take direction from the geese.  They are the first sign of Spring in these parts and as soon as they arrive we know warmer weather isn't far behind.  Guess what day the first geese arrived this year.

Come one guess.

That's right!  Ground Hog Day!  And why did the geese choose this day to arrive?  Because they are in full agreement and don't take weather advise from an animal that in normal conditions lives underground. Of course you remember that Phil himself doesn't live underground, he's too high and mighty and, being an avid reader, prefers to dwell in a library.

Hmmm....

I like his thinking...

But I digress....


So Amanda had an assignment for Photography.  She had to go out and catch nature, and it's natural lighting.  It was challenging considering it's been raining for a few days now but I found this on the camera.  It's the pond in the field next to our property.

Another photo Amanda took of what we call "Dave's Pond". Dave lives in town and owns the land this pond sits on.  When he bought it from another neighbour, who once lived in our home, he assured her he would never develop the land.  Dave told us he is stocking the pond and by next summer the boys should be able to fish in there. 


Yippee! I wonder who gets to clean the fish...

Beautiful shot, Amanda.


The pond had some ice framing the edges but was mostly open.  It's been like that most of the winter. Freezing and thawing, depending on the temperatures, all season.  


Kind of like we were.

The second sign of Spring?


Lookie what I found popping up outside my home.  


I first saw it yesterday when I was hooking dogs out but, unlike Amanda, I didn't want to go outside to take pictures.  So I waited until this morning, when it was a sleety rain.  Heck ya!  Why brave the rain when you can face the sleet?

Daffodils peeking up

 Some plants are braver than others and want to come up as soon as they can.  What's a little snow between friends?

Daylilies eager to make a showing

 Lest we forget.  Our early "warning" system.  The lawn is covered in these little beauties.

Snow Crocuses.  The name couldn't be more appropriate.

Forget woodchucks.  Let them sleep - or read, whatever it is Phil and Phyllis do in their spare time.  We'll keep on using the real signs of Spring... nature.  


We don't have to be drunk to understand the message either.