Yesterday afternoon we heard an owl calling, and watched a sharp-shinned hawk as it settled on a tree in the forest and eventually flew off again. It was a beautiful, mild and sunny day with a crisp wind, just perfect for a spring walk.

 And today turned out to be just as lovely. The woods still look sere and bare, just beginning to leaf out, but the foliage that is creeping into view is barely discernible. There's a long, long way to go. But it doesn't take much time. We expect by next week at this time there will present itself to our gaze a world of difference as the slight green haze will be transformed to a definite bloom of green.

Yesterday and today also we saw pairs of Mourning Cloaks and tiny blues flitting about. And although the trout lilies have spread enormously and there's plenty of foliage, we know from experience that there will be few flowers. We also saw a few more of those shy yellow trout lilies in flower today.

We looked assiduously on the forest floor not yet shielded by the shade that will eventually creep over it with the full leafing out of the canopy and did see several of the purple trilliums in full bloom. They're quite different from the more common white variety that represents the floral emblem of the Province of Ontario. The foliage is different and so are the flowers. The purple trillium flowers are more modest in size than the white ones and they tend to nod, while the white flowers gaze proudly and directly at the sun.

Hawthorns are beginning to evince some signs of life; they're usually tardier than the poplars and the maples. Fuzzy poplar catkins are now fallen all over the ground, alongside the tiny, bright red maple flowers that emerge before the foliage begins to.

Spring is in its stride. The first of the lilies of the valley have begun to poke their slender leaves around the base of pine trees. And woodland violets too are beginning to assert their presence.

A cornucopia of nature's early spring flowers succeeding the presence of coltsfoot.