But no: it is really true. The sun is out. The birds are everywhere. But it is not spring yet even though the Sandhills have gone over, the geese before them (the Sandhills are not finished, I don't think) and the robins are back. I know it is spring when the Juncos leave.
As much as I enjoy the Juncos and their attitudes, I am always relieved to notice the lack of them. It means it is truly spring.
The yard is undergoing some involuntary changes. There are tarps covering piles of leftover wood everywhere. The dogs, playing mountain goat, climb on these.
This morning there was a thin sheen of frost on the deck, enough to slip on without seeing it, which I did, clutching my camera. Cooper leaped easily onto the picnic table-- his favored spot, then was smart enough to see that with three legs he was going to have trouble getting down. I lifted him off the table.
The Bassets immediately began exploring the tarps and the places they had not been yesterday.
Conley gave me a lesson in humility:
This is closer to what I get. What a little skunk he is.
And the sun is out which means Llewis will spend the whole day outside, following the sun. He loves to sunbathe.
The birds were out too: A woodpecker.
And of course the Supervisor, watching it all: