Sounds of a thaw

It is too early for it to be truly spring, but yesterday it lifted my heart to notice changes in the weather.  I'm sorry to all of you skiers out there.  But, it is nice to know that spring is headed our way.  First, I noticed bird sounds.  More bird sounds than I have heard in a few months.  The sun felt warmer on my face.  I also heard the drip drip drip of snow melting off the roofs and snowbanks.  I heard a pile of snow swish and then topple from our roof.  There were big puddles on the sidewalks which my guide dog hates.  But, she didn't need to wear boots yesterday.  There was a different smell in the air too.  Not quite a spring smell but nice none the less.  I'm always glad when I don't need hats and hoods that muffle sounds or gloves that blindfold fingers or thick boots that cover up tactile landmarks I can feel with my feet.  And Tulia will be happier when she doesn't need boots most of the time too.

Great things about being blind. The spring is coming! The spring may be here!

The signs of spring are everywhere.  Grass is starting to come up,  I know because I can hear Tulia's paws crunching on it.  Or maybe they are just crunching on the mud that will be grass at some point in the future!
The birds are singing like crazy.  I haven't heard the cardinal again but cute whistling songs from what I imagine are quite small and dainty birds.  Maybe they aren't but I like to think they are!  The sun feels warmer on my face.  I've stopped wearing my gloves.  Gloves are like blindfolds for the hands!  And I have my winter coat still on the hook downstairs but wore a spring coat today.  And I opened our windows for the first time in months.  Not the livingroom ones yet but Tulia will love to sit there and sniff the air.  She already loves looking out of our windows down there.  bring on the spring.  Oh yes, and also no snowbanks to clamber over.  No icy sidewalks to navigate.  Today on our way about, we were just skimming along the sidewalks.  Both of us were happy.   Tulia's bouncy walk always makes me happy.  It is like she has springs in her feet.  And her tail wagged against my leg when we left the house this morning.  Happy happy spring to all.  Tulia has survived her first Canadian winter!  And, I've survived another one!

Great things about being blind. Signs of spring.

I know I'm a bit ahead of myself about spring coming. We did have quite a bit of snow yesterday and the wind is cold today. But, this morning while waiting for a ride to a day of artists meeting teachers, I felt like spring was coming and admired the signs. I love hearing signs of spring. The sun was definitely feeling stronger and warmer on my face. I heard the melting of snow as it drip drip dripped. I heard a few more birds. Birds singing happily. the wind had a bit of a different smell. I remember once being out for a walk on what I felt was a glorious early spring day. I was thinking about the birds. The sun. The smell of the spring earth. The fact that I didn't need as warm a coat. I mentioned this all to a sighted friend when I reached my destination. She seemed puzzled by my saying that it was beautiful outside. She said that you could see lots of garbage along the side as the snow melted. Dog droppings, paper cups. And the snow looked dirty and not clean white like it does when it first falls. I was glad I hadn't seen that and just thought about the wonderful springness around me. Blindness is bliss sometimes.