What could possibly be more fitting for spring's arrival in this year of 2021 than a sky so wide and blue you wonder what could might conceivably surpass it for the promise of the future? And then you hear it, the exquisite trill of the cardinal. And you look around, then up, up at the very tip of the crown of a winter-bound maple and you see that unmistakable flash of red in the sun. Hello spring, a matchless paeon to timeless spring.

The warmth of the sun, the crimson bird and its peerless song of welcome seeps deep into your core of well-being. So that when you discover from your local newspaper that a gross error has occurred in the scheduling you were informed was on track, registration confirmed for the appointments you made for the long-awaited vaccination against the dread covid virus, you merely simmer without exploding.

Thousands of people in your area must now re-engage in the ritual of attempting to get through to the same appointment set-up to reschedule their inoculation, that failed in the first place. So sorry, anxious public; let's give it another try. You receive an email advising that your confirmed appointment has been cancelled. Try again, won't you?

Think of the pleasurable things that today brings with the first day of spring, and set that aside for now. The world spins on its axle as it always has. Yesterday you had fun putting together an apple pie. It's your husband's favourite dessert, after all. Lots of raisins with the Royal Gala apples, and crystalized ginger and cinnamon to make for an aromatic, flavour-full close to your Friday-evening meal. There's satisfaction in that.

And today's jaunt through the ravine with Jackie and Jillie, it was restful, relaxing, energizing. Crows have begun to gather, flying high, calling to one another in a language we don't understand while knowing what clever creatures they are. Remember yesterday, when you heard an owl so close, but couldn't see it, in the density of the forest trees? You might have walked right by it, but failed to glance up at that time. Only when it began hooting did you realize how close it was.

The snow will now commence melting apace. It was much milder today, 8C when we were out on the forest trails; little wind, and the sun sitting so high in the sky now that it has no trouble penetrating the leaf-naked forest canopy. Jackie and Jillie are focused on all the wonderful (?) new odours freed up by the melting snow, and they trot along, oblivious to all but those intriguing smells, noses to the ground.

The creek is running full and high, but it will be that and much, much more within the next few weeks, given the amount of snow and ice yet to melt as the days and nights continue to become warmer. Oh, and that re-scheduling of the vaccine? A loss of two days. Instead of Wednesday, it will now be Friday. Unless, of course, something else surfaces that goes awry before that event takes place...