Yesterday, finally, spring alerted us she was on her way, putting cranky old man winter on notice at the same time. Not only can we now see a difference in the height of the snow on the backyard garden sheds' roofs, and sidestep the steady stream of meltwater coming off the house roof and onto the deck floor, but Jackie and  Jillie insisted on going out repeatedly to bask in the warmth of the sun, the temperature soaring to 6C.

When we went out for our daily ravine walk in the forest they wore only sweaters and boots. A release and a relief for all of us. It will be a while yet before we can set aside the boots since the snowpack is still high and will remain that way for awhile. But we're on our way, and that's exciting. Yesterday we saw the pair of sharp-shinned hawks that always come back to the forest to nest in the spring; they were circling high in the sky.

We also saw quite a number of birds flocking, not only chickadees and robins but much smaller birds we couldn't see well enough to identify, their silver wings flashing in the sun as they flew after and around, each other pirouetting and darting back and forth in a breed-specific mating ritual dance. A dance we're more familiar with butterflies enacting.

Today, it's even warmer than it was yesterday, the thermometer hit an amazing 12C. It came with partial sun and wild wind gusts and a hint that some rain could come along, but we haven't seen it yet despite the gathering clouds obscuring the sun. While we were out in the ravine the sun did escape the clouds on several occasions casting its ghostly-bright presence through a rain-threatening sky.

There was lots of activity in the ravine. Not only is the creek now preparing to go into full flood mode, heavily swollen with snowmelt, but the wind was soaring through the forest canopy, howling as the trees bent back and forth. Human activity, however, not so much. It's been a wonder to us the last week or so with the notable absence of the greater community that had 'discovered' the presence of this wonderful natural resource in our midst.

On these beautiful late-winter days preparing to welcome spring, few hikers have been around, and those we tend to come across are regular hikers, people we've seen and come to know for years of mutual interest in exercising our lungs and limbs through fascinating strolls through an unspoiled forest which never fails to show us something new and different every time we venture forth.

Jackie and Jillie did get to meet one new friend, a young beagle whom none of us had seen before, nor the young couple the beagle brought in with him, all three discovering what a treasure they're able to access so readily in an otherwise-developed urban sprawlspace.

Tree wells are now beginning to form around the base of tree trunks, another sign of spring, when the heat of the sun and the ambient warmth begins to melt the snowpack. The dark trunks attract the sun's heat which melts the surrounding snow, forming a well of diminished snow around the tree. As the warm days and sun progress in intensity the wells become wider and deeper until eventually the pack itself melts and runs down the hillsides into the accommodating creek.