I hope you are not to sick of moonset pictures, because there are a number in this post.  First, however, some signs of spring.

Yes!  Minus 11C (+11F!)  This happened two days in a row and it is still down to -6C most nights.

The hummingbirds have arrived, but they are faced, in the morning, with a popsical.

We are having constant cold, furious winds – everything is getting desperately dry and dusty.  However, the birds are coming regardless.  The purple finches are now accompanied by their lady friends.

The dunes are now bare of snow, and the first jacob’s ladder is blooming.

And I was fortunate to come across this very rare Scottish desert mouse.

The full moon sank into cloud, but two days later, I was lucky enough to see this display.

Back to land again.  The very first dwarf birches are showing their leaves.

And this morning I found the first early purple violets out.

Last Friday I went to The Wizard of Oz at the Tatla Lake School.  An excellent production.  I was driving home in the dusk and saw two different black bears.

And the next day, when I was returning from my dunes walk, I came across these grizzly tracks on the road, covering my tire tracks of the night before.  You can distinctly see the claw points far ahead of the toes on the front paw (which is in the rear).  My boot print is beside them – not the biggest grizzly ever, but a fair size for all that.  The dogs were totally calm so I knew the bear was long gone.