First Sign of Spring!

Ironic that we travel from Tucson, AZ to St Charles, IL, and the first sign of Spring that we spot is outside a snowbank in Illinois! I was talking to sister Kathy this morning when I happened to look outside the window and spotted this Crocus bud popping up through last Fall's dropped leaves.


The ground here is still mostly snow covered, but there is little ice on the river. I was out admiring the night sky last night (still considerably brighter than Tucson, especially with snow on the ground to direct light upwards) and was surprised to hear flocks of geese flying at night. Watching them carefully, I could even spot some against the light-polluted sky as they came down to land in the Fox River. This morning the river was loaded with Canada Geese, but I couldn't tell if they were part of the native population or if they, like us, were on their way north.

After sleeping in this morning, I went off on a shopping trip for some eating supplies and stopped for a walk at our regular Tekakwitha Forest Preserve on the way home. The bike path on the way to the river was still snow and ice covered - in fact, you could still see where cross-country skiers were using it recently. The trails in the woods were perfect for walking - the shade of the woods left the ground snow and ice covered, but the temp was such that it wasn't too slushy, icy, or muddy. A beautiful day for a walk - perfectly blue skies, temps in the low 40s.

One of the tasks to accomplish here is to work on one of our hallways that sister Maj has been working on. When I finally got home after my walk they were working out the strategy for the walls and floor.The plan is for drywall, boxing in the electrical boxes and a wooden floor like we did in the bedroom. Eventually the entire house is likely to have the same floor treatment, so we are working it in where we can.