Melting

We are in now in April, and the snow lies in small patches on the lawn.  The immense snow banks are gone from the roadside and the path to our garage is nearly clear.  The process was gradual, and for a long time it seemed never-ending.  On warm sunny days we shoveled ice and tossed it on the black top to melt. 

The truck has still not exited the garage, but I think it would be possible at last.

In the last week the melting has accelerated.  On Easter my two-year old granddaughter ran up and down the hill behind the house with me.  We ran as liberated prisoners. She fell a couple times as her little legs could not keep up with the momentum of her running, but she fell on ground spongy with moisture.  The grass is still very brown, and looks like it has been hammered with a sledge. 

New birds have begun to appear at the feeder.  Red winged blackbirds, common grackles and even a mockingbird have come to feed.  Today I saw robins for the first time searching for worms in the spongy lawn.  My rosebush has returned from its burial in the snow scape, and the branches have a green sheen.  There are about two inches of shoots where daffodil bulbs and tulips are hidden in the soil.  The tree branches swell with small buds, and the rock wall has appeared to mark the garden edge. 

 

Looking out the window, I still see winter, but close up spring is coming.  We have come back from that arctic landscape.  We are home again.