The truth of the matter is this has been an extremely mild winter. Fall went down easy. We were well into November before our first snow. Maybe it was even December. Then as every winter should be, we were covered in white for our Christmas holiday in December and then continuing into January. Enter February. February is always my favorite winter month. I always say it is "the sunniest month of winter". This year did not disappoint. But with the sun, we have also had warmer temperatures throughout the month. That makes for an early spring.
I noticed the first Robin on Monday, February 22nd. I couldn't see him real well, so I wasn't positive. But it was only a few more minutes when I saw 3 or 4 more. Well, we are on our way, I thought. The next day while talking to my son in the drive way, we saw the little Chickadees and Nuthatch.
It was Thursday, as I was looking out the living room windows while talking to my husband, that I saw the first Bluebird - two actually. One was sitting on each box at the corner of the pasture. They were Westerns. The Mountains have been rare the last couple years. I am really hoping some will return this spring. I was a bit surprised to see the Westerns so soon. They usually don't appear until around the first week of March. March 11th, last year. But then again, with the early spring, as I said, I really wasn't that surprised.Finally, Friday, the 26th, as I headed out to feed the horses, I heard the warble of the first Meadowlark. For some reason, this did surprise me. I simply wasn't expecting them. In fact, I think I had almost forgotten about them....yeah, age will do that to you. But I stopped what I was doing to listen carefully. There was more than one. Maybe even more than a few. The sound gives me pause every time. It simply warms my heart, and brings back nostalgic feelings and hope for the future. Love is in the air.
