This week, the long, deep freeze finally broke. Ice and snow melted into gradually diminishing piles of mush until it disappeared altogether. The sun showed its face. Everyone seemed to unclench a bit and move more loosely in the warmer air.
We were fortunate to get out of the neighborhood a couple times through the course of the week. First, we visited our old stomping ground – the Tremont towpath. Chuck seemed excited and darted from side to side, her nose busy in the grasses along the trail. I imagine she could smell her old friends and acquaintances and left her mark to let them know she’d come for a visit.
The river was busy with gulls and geese and ducks of all sorts. They swam and fluttered and clucked and chattered. I was thrilled to see flocks of mergansers chasing each other here and there. A lone redhead looked for friends first among the mergansers and then among the mallards before settling in amongst the gulls.
Later in the week, we hiked through the mist at Bradley Woods. I love the way the low fog makes even a familiar place feel mysterious. I heard the geese honking at each other before I spotted them wading at the edge of the pond. Robins foraged in the field and it inspired false hope that spring might be here soon.
