If you scroll down and look at the last picture I posted like this you can see how much more open water there is now!
Mark pretending to hopscotch
These flowers are everywhere!
Top 5 Things I love about Spring!
1. The return of birds. I must admit that I only partially realized that so many birds had left for the winter. There were still lots of sparrows around and I couldn't really remember all the varieties of birds that had been here in the short stint of summer that I actually was in Madison. BUT...now that spring is here the air is filled with an almost ridiculous amount of bird song- whole choruses of all different birds. Mark and I first noticed the difference a few weeks ago. We heard a morning dove outside my apartment (that morning dove likes to hang outside my apartment every day now and I always here it around 7:30). Actually I can hear it now. Later that day coming back from skiing there was almost a deafening amount of bird singing coming from the park at the end of my street - cardinals, sparrows, other birds I didn't even recognize. The amount of songs has only increased since then. Seagulls, robins, hawks- they're all back because it's spring!
2. The weather. We've had a beautiful week of weather. That kind of perfect weather where you walk outside and you just feel excited to enjoy it. The kind of weather where you can wear 1 light sweater and cotton socks, and the sun feels good beating down on you. This is nice because you don't have to spend 15 minutes in the morning getting dressed in layers. It's funny because my definitions of "warm" and "cold" have definitely changed. Coming out of winter temperatures 45 feels warm and 65 feels almost hot. On the playground a couple days ago I was wearing a t-shirt and pants and was pushing the kids on swings. I wished that I was wearing shorts, and it was 65 degrees! The other plus of the weather is it makes my job MUCH easier. We can go outside without forcing 20 kids into snow pants, boots, jacket, hat, gloves...which takes AWHILE and some convincing. Now we can go outside without any jackets and everyone wants to go outside.
3. The extra hour of sunlight because of daylight savings time. This is the most wonderful thing. I didn't realize how much I missed the sun. Now after Mark and I leave work we can walk around and see things...in the daylight! We can also do things like go for a bike ride after work or play bocce ball. Soon the lake will be totally unfrozen and we'll be able to do things like go for canoe trips after work!
4. Green growing things. This is possibly one of the most exciting things for me. The great thing about seasons and being more tuned into things like the farmer's market is that you really notice life cycles. All this week I've been noticing tiny green shoots poking their heads out around the dead leaves and brown grass. Then a couple days ago I saw my first flowers! Now they're appearing everywhere. Cute purple, yellow and white flowers in everyone's front yard! It puts a skip in my step as I walk by each person's garden.
5. The reappearance of everyone outside. Now, I have to admit that even in winter I saw way more people outside than I ever saw in Florida- walking, running, even biking. But now that we have nice weather ago this number has at least quadrupled. It's fun to see that everyone else is excited about the spring weather. We see lots of people walking and biking. Kids are outside playing a lot more. Sidewalk chalk coats the sidewalks once again. Everyone has smiles on their faces. I can't exactly explain it, but it seems like you get more a sense of community and being together because we're all outside sharing this great weather. You see a person beaming and you can smile back at them and even though you've never met you both know the other person is reveling in the beautiful weather. It's a good feeling.
