on its way

eventhough we've had no sighting of the elusive red winged blackbird, there are lots of other subtle signs of spring here in my little part of the world. the snow melting helps aid the feeling that spring is coming A LOT!

our yard was full of chubby red chested robins today. i grew up in the city. living there we didn't have as many birds as there are around the suburbs where i live now. my grandfather would mark his calendar every year with the appearance of his first robin. it was cause for a phone call and big excitement in our family. and from then on till the robins vanished for the city's winter, my grandfather kept a running calendar count of how many robins he saw from his very small cement porch overlooking his postage stamp sized front yard or their grass-less cement backyard. a few miles away, the house i grew up in is on a street with a few trees and a larger postage stamp sized front AND back yard. so we always had a few more robins. but nothing like the amount that i counted in our neighbour's yard today (45 robins walking back and forth very slowly). i don't think 45 robins would have fit on my grandpop's front yard!!

and my roses, the ones that my mom and i chose carefully for their colours, which bloom from spring well into fall and which i am complimented on by so many people, are starting to bud leaves. very small tiny little bitty things. but they are there! i am very excited. especially as these roses will be removed at some point to make way for our new front porch (maybe next summer).

this weekend the times changes. i have cut daffodils from trader joe's in my family room, and the sun was up and bright at 645am this morning :)

every little bit helps :)