One Step Backward

Spring has been struggling a little this year. The weather has been cool. The wind, funneling in from the west, has been downright cold on occasions.

So when we woke up this morning to find that everything was white again, it should have been no big surprise. 

That it continued to snow all day long, however... THAT is beginning to be a bit much. It is, after all, the beginning of Holy Week... almost Easter.  Spring flowers, bunnies with baskets of chocolate eggs, bonnets, all that stuff.  All of which is much improved by sunshine and warm breezes blowing.

It is almost the opening day of Trout Season. Vic called to say hello, and to check in on ice conditions. He is heading to Kiosk, at the north of Algonquin Park next week with some buddies for the start of the fishing season.  My advice? Take an ice auger along with you.

Taffy is on goose patrol. Chasing them off the lawn, she is a bit disappointed by their habit of not playing fair... they climb up on the ice and honk at her from a safe distance.. And on land, unlike the chickens, they fly away from her. Still, she's pretty sure they could be playmates if she could just catch up to them.  She couldn't -- geese are notoriously not very friendly.  We have our fingers crossed that these will continue their northern migration. They are lovely to see floating by, but if they set up housekeeping and invite over friends, they can be a real problem.

The mallards are back, too. They are never an issue -- oddly enough.  Every summer we can look forward to having Momma Duck float by with her little ducklings, scouring along the shoreline for food, and pausing to entertain our guests at the dock.

The mergansers, also, will sweep past in big flotillas, much to everyone's excited admiration, and then move along.  It's the geese who tend to sit on the lawns, rafts, docks, and generally make themselves unwelcome.

I've been told that they are not migrating as far north now because of the abundance of snow geese -- who graze down the tundra until there is not enough left for the Canada geese.

All the same, I don't think we've really seen the back of them. I think this pair are planning to stick around.

I just hope the snow doesn't have the same intention.