Well.  That was a long, unintended break from writing and picture taking!  Honestly, March almost did me in.  I think it was TS Eliot that said April is the cruelest month but this year, it was hands-down March.  Anything that could go wrong did, and then some…plus it was cold and rainy.  It felt like spring was just not ever going to show its face, and I wondered if I’d just be cold the rest of my life.  Finally, though, this weekend was warm and sunny, for the first time in months.  We noticed that the frogs are peeping at night again and the red-winged blackbirds are back.  I raked a bit of the yard this morning and the unmistakable smell of spring wafted up from the dirt and I swear I almost cried, it had been so long!

This afternoon we managed to pull ourselves away from binge-watching Homeland (which I am now obsessed with) and drove up to the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary for a little walk.  It was muddy in spots, and still some snow in others, but we happily tromped around the ponds and watched kids feeding the chickadees straight out of their hands.  Meanwhile, the resident bluebirds entertained us.  We also saw a deer, too deep back in the woods to photograph, as well as a cute little vole (sorry, Mom!), a couple of muskrats (cue this song), and lots of geese and ducks.

Afterwards there was ice cream, the first of the season at our local ice cream place that’s been operating over 70 years.  It’s not much, but it’s a start – and I’ll take it!