It Has Sprung

Spring has finally sprung around here. Today's temperature reached a sunny 16C (61F) and snow piles have almost entirely disappeared. It's been lovely for walking and snapping photos.

Just a quick update about the repairs that were necessitated by mamma raccoon. The roof has been repaired by an outside contractor. It rained heavily the following day and I heard nary a drop. The interior work has been on hold while the insurance company's contractor got their act together and presented an estimate. They're booked to come in next Monday to start doing the rest of the job which includes repairing my ceiling and wall, painting both and cleaning the carpet. The insurance company has agreed to pay all of my bills in full. That includes the interior and exterior work, the bill from the animal removal service, a bill from my neighbour Lloyd for his emergency repairs, the replacement cost of lamps, shades and venetian blinds, and a fair compensation for a water-damaged night table. Lombard Canada, Ltd. was cooperative, helpful, supportive and reliable in every way that I had hoped, and I highly recommend them.

I've heard the raccoon kits under the deck as recent as yesterday. My cat Skittles, Frank's dog Benny and my neighbour Caroline's dog Raven can all smell them. They head over to that corner of the deck to sniff around as soon as they are outside. I'm concerned that one of them might try to corner them sometime when they venture out, particularly Benny who seems to be hardwired to chase. I'll be happy when the kits are old enough to leave their nest behind so that we can seal up their point of access. Aside from my concerns, I'm happy to know they're still around, and hope that all four babies are still thriving.

Please enjoy some random shots taken over the past week. Please remember to click on them to enlarge.

Other birds are just as representative of the season, but get shortchanged by the popularity of the robin as the first sign of spring.

This mourning dove was busy gathering nesting materials.




This little guy watched me closely and suspiciously until I lowered my camera and moved on.



A walk along a nearby shallow creek offered this view.



Frank almost always finds something when he's out walking. This time, much to Benny's delight, it was a frisbee.



Here's a view of the willow tree that appeared in the last foggy image, two posts ago.



The setting sun always warms the lake with its golden light.



An out of focus shot of a duck taking off, rendered this image a suitable Photoshop experiment.