The snowfall from the first day of spring has melted and the grass is beginning to show through in the backyard.  It's going to take a while for the remaining ice to melt.  The strawberry patch took the brunt of the neighbor's fiasco but it is bare now and the plants appear to have survived.  There is still four inches of ice in places but that is a positive as there was double that amount.

I've stayed off the trails due to the condition that they are in and the fact that I still cannot wear my backpack or hold up the camera.  My wildlife watching has been limited to the backyard or from the driver's seat of my vehicle.

I was going stir-crazy on Friday so I took a little trip to Elk Island National Park.  The bison were grazing in the Bison Loop.  The babies from last year were running and head- butting each other; obviously enjoying the fact that they do not have to walk through two feet of snow.

The Canada Geese are abundant and are searching out the best spots to nest.  The ice is breaking up on the ponds so the geese were happily taking a little swim.

I traveled to the north end of the park and decided to go on a little road trip.  The fields east of Lamont were still snow covered.  The ponds were still frozen over.  One lonely Canada Goose stood on the ice in the middle of a pond.  That scene would have made a great spring poster with a caption but there was no spot for me to pull over on the highway to stop and take a photo.

My trip ended in Vegreville.  I visited my favorite farm supply store and picked up the seeds for my garden and flower beds.  On the way out of town I stopped at one more store and I hit the jackpot.  I've been looking for a new pair of hiking boots.  I found my size and favorite color on the clearance rack.  They are the most comfortable boots I have ever had and I got them for more than half off!

The drive home was uneventful.  The deer were in the yard when I pulled in.  There were only two and they were new visitors.  Their size indicated that they were last year's babies.  That did not stop them from jumping over top of the barbed wire fence at the back of my yard.  They both cleared it with at least a foot to spare.

The starlings and the dark-eyed juncos are the most recent new feathered visitors to the feeders.  They are doing a good job of cleaning up all the seeds that were knocked to the ground during the winter.

Yesterday, an adult moose ran through the bush at the back of the yard.  The farm dogs must have been chasing it.  I thought it may stop in the willow thicket for a snack but it kept going.

The sun is out this morning and the temperature is supposed to be in the double digits so I'm hoping that more of that ice will melt and the water will run off.  I'm getting antsy to go for a walk in the woods.