Yesterday was a day worth waiting for.

The pussy willows were liking that sun as much as I was…I think they might be a little behind this year.

I was reading about the way lake ice melts. Apparently, when the snow melts from the surface, the ice acts like the glass in a greenhouse, encouraging the sun to warm the water, and melt the ice from below. Who knew? When the depth of the ice is a foot or less, the ice is transformed into crystal “candles” that conduct light even better, which also makes the ice look black. After that, the ice doesn’t stand a chance. When a wind comes up, we hear the friendly tinkling sound of many candles breaking apart. Shelby and I were talking about it the other day…and she said “Isn’t it cool, that the ice evolved to go out like that.” Then she immediately corrected her thinking….it DOES seem like an evolution-type thing, but….why would ice evolve to disappear right on time? For the survival of the planet? For the survival of the outfitters? At any rate, it’s disappearing by the hour. It must have rained last night, because it is full of puddles right now, and much blacker than yesterday

Some people will recognize the wine water of the Cross River. It’s not pollution–it’s tannic acid, from the nutrients in the water. Not sure why some lakes are so clear and blue, and others are tea-colored, but it doesn’t affect the quality of the water. Just talking about it makes me want to take in small water bottles to our familiar lakes and do a blind taste test. I know some lakes have water worth camping early for—-and others are not quite as sweet, but I wonder if we could actually identify the specific lakes by the taste of the water? The sun yesterday made for a sparkling water sight, that’s for sure.

I can’t help taking photos from the overlook on the Centennial Trail. Denali and I make it a destination on busier days. We think of it as our plot. Our little retreat to a lonely place. It’s familiar and oh-so-peaceful.

This boulder fell next to the road this spring. Andy called the Highway Department to report it, not a problem for us, but I’m sure it might be a problem for the plow. Andy told his friend Gary not to worry, no hurry, we moved it to the side. Just a little road humor for Gary when he arrives..an inside excavation joke….we’re lucky that it decided to fall where it did.

It always tugs at my heart to see a baby tucked up under the protection of its mother–no matter what the species.
Welcome spring!