Spring on the horizon?

It's still cold, it's still windy. There are still hints that snow may hit here and there, now and then.

But there also are glimmers of hope that spring will, indeed, arrive.

I saw my first robins this week, although I felt a bit sorry to see the mini-flock of birds as I left work
on Wednesday. It hardly seems that it's been warm enough this month to seduce any birds that had wintered in the south to head up north so early.

Guess they must have tuned in to watch Punxsutawney Phil offer his prediction of an early spring ... and actually believed  him!

I hope these early birds can hunker down and stay a bit warm until the temperatures rise a bit.

And, as if seeing the robins weren't enough, that same day about 10 red-winged blackbirds stopped by my feeders for a snack. Some people say that those birds are the true harbingers of spring and they are very handsome.

We can only hope these feathered friends know something that we don't and that those warm days will be dawning very soon. But at least it's less than a month for that first "official" day of spring!