Well, I took a hike too … down to Council Point Park. It was a chilly one at best.

Although the last two warm and sunny days were perfect in every way, today was blustery and cold, so I was back in a hat, heavy coat and gloves. Since yesterday, I noticed that the lackluster landscape at the Park is very slowly coming to life. The trees are full of pale green buds but no leaves yet. The grass is even greening up. Those straw-colored reeds in the marshy area of the Creek have withstood the Winter and were waving wildly in the wind. I saw some splish-splashing going on in the Creek, though no geese or ducks were present, so I walked slowly down the embankment. I thought I might see some frogs or turtles nipping at the surface of the water, but all I saw were the rings remaining where they had come up for air, then quickly submerged again.

There were a few new dabs of color here and there in the neighborhood besides just those orange and white construction barrels. The kids pulled out the pastel chalks that had been buried beneath the goodies in their Easter baskets and they took to the sidewalks. The handiwork of those budding chalk artists was everywhere, including hopscotch squares on uneven sidewalks, where a hop, step and a jump should be taken at your own risk

All those multi-colored chalk flowers and squiggles and doodles paired nicely with the turquoise lawn patch that was everywhere. It appears that alot of homeowners are hopeful that magic mixture will take root during our two days of rain they are forecasting.

So, as to those Facebook computer funnies about Spring loading slowly – it’s true. Mother Nature is doing one step forward, two steps back.