My snow shovel is feeling ignored. The official first day of spring is just around the corner. I shoveled the driveway only 5 times this entire winter. That wasn't the case in 2013. I'm pretty sure that I shoveled 5 times per week.

On March 22 of that year, the snowbanks were almost 5 feet tall. I dug out my fire pit. The high banks formed around it created a cozy sitting area that was sheltered from the wind. That certainly was not the case this year.

Currently there is about 2 inches of snow in the backyard; maybe 4 where it is packed down. There was some fresh snowfall yesterday afternoon but it melted as it touched the ground. The snow turned to rain. The raindrops were falling at 10pm when I got home from work last night.

On the weekend I stood on the back deck listening to the neighborhood sounds. The geese were calling. They flew overhead. It appeared that they were looking for some open water. Even though it has been warm, the pond and lake surfaces are still frozen over. I think they came back too early.

There are many signs of spring already. The pussy willows are open. The sea buckthorn in the backyard have silvery leaves that are open. The perennials are greening up where the snow has disappeared. The ditches are filling with water where the culverts are still frozen; preventing the flow to the lake.

When I was on the deck listening to the geese on Saturday, I noticed that it smelled like spring. I tried to identify as many smells as I could. There was the smell of damp leaves, spruce sap and deer poop. 

As the snow melts to the ground, the annual first fertilizer of spring appears. Who needs to buy the bagged stuff? By the time lawn clean up happens, those little nuggets will be dry. The lawn mower will spread them around and I end up with nice green grass. It can't get any more organic than that.

More photos at  https://www.facebook.com/Ramblings-of-an-Outdoor-Girl-1015659961820012/