I was hoping that when we went shopping for groceries this morning at the supermarket there would still be some packages of bulbs for sale, and there were. No more peonies, but there were lilies and there were dahlias and gladiolas and other bulbs, so I was able to acquire a few more. Not that I'll be planting them any time soon. The accumulated snowpack is huge. Lawns are covered with up to six feet of snow in some places, though five feet is more the average; my height. And it'll take a while for it all to melt.

When I look at it, it seems hopeless, there's so much of it. But there always is at the beginning of March. And although it was very, very cold the past week, suddenly we've begun moderating. That too, is what happens here; the weather turns on a dime. Two nights ago the temperature dipped to -19C, and today the daytime high soared to 6C.

There's a steady drip of melting snow off the roof. The pathways in the backyard for Jackie and Jillie are no longer icy and the driveway no longer slippery, the milder weather doing a bang-up job of denaturizing the ice and melting the snow. It'll take more than one day and warmer temperatures than a mere 6C, but finally we're on our way. Those bulbs will get planted, even if it takes a month or so until the soil is warm enough to receive them.

In the early afternoon Jackie and Jillie were prepared for our jaunt through the forest trails wearing their rubber boots and this time only a sweater. We set aside their winter coats, and hope that it'll be for good before spring's arrival. The ice that had begun forming again yesterday over the creek is now gone. Just as we can see a difference in the snowpack atop the roofs of our garden sheds, it's obvious that the forest snowpack is melting too by the look of the swollen creek.

Not only was it a benign-weather day with no wind, the sun was glorying in a wide blue sky, lashing the forest canopy with streams of warm sunlight. A bumper year for pine cones, they're still coming down, littering the snow just as they had the naked trails before the snow flew. Our little furry forest neighbours had no lack of food this winter.

Despite how gorgeous this day has been and despite that we decided to stay out longer and go further on the trail network, we saw scant few others on the trails. Jackie and Jillie still had the opportunity to greet some of t heir friends, but by and large we had the trails to ourselves. Those few others that we did see out were having some difficulties in their footing on the hilly ascents and descents. 

A slight layer of wet melting snow over the snowpack on the hills lends itself to slippery conditions and that's just what people were doing. Some had walking sticks to help give them stability on the trails, but it was cleats strapped over boots that they needed. With them, we're assured of a good solid grip making negotiating the trails far more pleasant and easier.