The end of Winter

Two weeks ago it was still winter and as near as I could tell it wasn't even close to being done. I looked out to the side shed and there sat my bike all engulfed in snow. The days never even hinted at a change in time---just winter, the time to hide by the stove.



That day we walked across the bridge over the Tommorrow River and looked south. For reasons not yet apparent, a portion had opened up, the portion where in late fall we had seen a River Otter. It seemed to make little sense because it was still winter and there had been a above freezing day in months. But there apparenetly are other forces that had detected the subtle changing weather. The river was opening. Nature decided to break the ice once the daytime average drifted above 20. Combine the intruding water temperature and subtract the penetrating cold air of deep winter and the playground of the otter returned.



I pulled the Folboat out from under the west side shed and it became covered in what I thought was just another winter snow but the boat, like the otter, detected the changing river. It all melted and today it is spring.