Spring is settling in. It's been a cloudy week with one significant storm early on that brought just over an inch of rain (not snow) over two days (1.01"). That storm brought howling winds and some tree damage. A neighbor lost an old apple tree. The area here in the center of town lost power from about 3:00 to 8:00AM Monday morning. The ground has thawed so rainfall is getting into the soil. The last remnants of the snowpiles have melted. It's not just the planets aligning, plants are starting to come out of dormancy.
Daffodils and wild chives have started to come up and the buds on the Andromeda are getting plump. They will probably start breaking out of their winter husks soon. It's just the first signs of spring with much more to come of course, but it's still very welcome.
The usual birds (Juncoes, sparrows, woodpeckers, nuthatches, cardinals, crows and red-tailed hawks) are being joined by others. Purple finches, blue jays, mourning doves and even a common grackle according to the Peterson Eastern Birds book have been around. Robins haven't made an appearance yet. The resident squirrels and rabbits round out the usual crittersightings.
The snow base at the nearby ski hill (Ski Ward) hasn't fully melted yet (at least as of a few days ago), extending its season a bit. Perfect weather for the kids, shedding some of the layers of winter clothing and still enjoying the brisk air.