Winter is Dead

She turned to the sunlight

And shook her yellow head,

And whispered to her neighbor:

"Winter is dead."

~ A.A. Milne

Winter is dead.

How do I know this? Well, I don't really but everywhere around me, there are sure signs of spring.


Signs like the ubiquitous robin and other warmer weather birds heard singing for their mates. I snapped this image with a short lens, through all sorts of twigs which were partly obscuring a branch fairly high above me. I couldn't resist the robin's cheery song. Yup, I should have put the camera in video mode but alas, I did not.







It's March. In Canada, that means that we're never sure whether we'll need the shovel or the rake, so why not keep both handy?







The kids don't care about the above dilemma. They're gung ho to dig in the snow or in the earth. I suspect these toys might come out at any time during the year. They were at the same house as the rake and shovel.







Another sign of spring is when the mallards become rather possessive of their mates, fending off other potential suitors. Of course, an even clearer sign is that there is open water in which to do that.







It's March and that means that St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner. And on the Sunday before the 17th, Peterborough gives the GREEN light for the St. Paddy's Day Parade. I became aware of the event with plenty of time to plan attending. The route takes it to within a couple of blocks of my place. Judging by the recent Santa Clause parade, I estimated how long it should have taken to make its way here. And I was way off. I missed most of it but caught the tail end.







Its few remaining minutes (about 15) still brought some interesting characters my way. These guys were from the nearby town of Hastings where they run an educational theme park called Blades of Glory.







Cars and drivers, big and small were all decked out with the greenery of the day.







These are the pipers and drummers from The Rogues of Northumberland.







This girl did her own personal version of an Irish jig. I wonder if she kept it up throughout the whole parade route.







And this adorable fashionista stopped to pose for me, and throw some sloppy doggie kisses my way. Smooch!

That's it for now. I've spent the last couple of weeks totally flattened by a nasty flu bug but I'm very much on the mend now, and have been getting out for walks more often. This means more photos coming up before too long. Until then, I hope you've enjoyed this emergence of spring.