I know, I know, I know, I know...

Where in boring Steve attempts to not be boring on a Friday.

So, signs Spring is almost here:

1) I can see some spots of my neighbors' lawns. And in my own corner of the wind tempest field, the snow is below the third "Let it snow" on our decorations. That means we're down to about 18" of snow on the ground. And only after a week of above freezing temperatures during the day. Wonders abound.

2) During the last snow storm, as I was hauling snow around the plowed drifts because I couldn't throw it over them, came the warbling noise of Robin song. See, Robins, a bird which doesn't migrate, really aren't signs of spring because they don't go anywhere except deeper into the woods and switch their diet to insects, suet, and seeds. Red-winged blackbird and their buzzing calls are really the avian harbingers of the arrival of spring like weather. So when you see red-wings perching on the browned corpses of cat-tails, the south has come again.

3) Several large flocks of Canadian geese have flown overhead. Now, not all of these birds migrate, but we don't have many ponds that remain open that they could be at. So as they go honking through the skies like Valkyries in heavy traffic, they bring the Spring with them.

4) Finally the true sign of returning Spring, the cats sun bathing in the window for longer than their five-minute "but this worked before" exercises. Today the cats lay there, soaking in the afternoon sun for almost and hour. Spring is on it's way.