Spring!

March is a puzzlement.  It definitely is not equated with spring.  At least not around here.  It is probably the most fickle month of the year.  One minute you can be up to your keester in snow, the next minute up to your keester in floods.

One often hopes it blows through quickly with the winds it's know for.  So here we are nearing the middle.  I think St. Patrick's day is truly a blessing.  It's green and cheery just when we need it.  Winter is old now, and gray.

Every once in awhile ole March will throw you ringer.  Both yesterday and today, the morning was sunny and actually warm.  I changed to a lighter weight jacket when I went out to run some errands.  The sun on my back was absolutely delicious.

Then I saw it.  The true harbinger of spring.  Our first Killdeer.  Sitting on a snowbank watching me as I picked up the papers.  I was thrilled.  I think our Killdeer are far more accurate than some moldy old groundhog that's pampered and primped and usually doesn't get it right anyway.  Maybe it's the western spirit of these guys.  At least the ones who choose our yard in which to summer.

I can turn off the alarm clock now.  The shrill call of the Killdeer breaks the dawn.  You can't sleep through it if they're in close proximity to an open window.  That's okay.  It's just nice to know that some things stay the same.  Their presence is part of the comfort of home.

I'm glad they're back.  Even after getting thoroughly depressed from reading the morning's papers, I had a spring in my step when I went out.  The sun helped.  But mostly it was the sight and sound of that ever cheerful little bird.