It's here!

Spring at last! In a matter of days, we have gone from the depths of winter (with temperatures ranging as low as -20 degrees celsius with the wind chill) to 15 degrees and sunny today. It feels miraculous.

Even more miraculous are the plants in my garden. When a shovelled the last of an icey pile of snow from a flower bed in front of the house, I found iris leaves poking through the ground beneath it -- growing into the snowbank. Amazing! Needless to say, the discovery spurred me to shovel snow from the bed at the back of the house as well. And, again I was delighted -- this time to find the tender green shoots of daisies breaking the ground. How can plants imagine it's time to poke their heads up when the ground around them is still frozen and they are covered by more than a foot of snow? However they do it, I'm very grateful.

The forecasters are calling for rain tomorrow, but I don't mind. Today, has been a glorious gift!

Winter's End

I am so grateful winter is almost behind us. In the past few days, we had another cold blast but forecasters are predicting warmer temperatures for the weekend and I can hardly wait.

One evening last week it was actually warm enough to go for a run in shorts! It felt wonderful trotting along on dry pavement, no longer needing to monitor the placement of every step or run hunched against frigid winds.

And in the mornings, as I walk through my neighbourhood on my way to work, brilliant red cardinals, orange-breasted robins and cheerful chickadees call out to one another. At the sound, my heart, which has been lying like a frozen lump in my chest for months now, feels noticeably lighter and begins stirring gently. Perhaps, spring will bring hope and joy after all. Wouldn't that be nice?