Signs of spring

1. The obvious: bird signs. A robin looking for worms. A pair of mourning doves perched on a branch, kissing. That was weird. More shoebirds than usual. Mom calls them shoebirds... everyone else calls them nuthatches except those crazy ornithologists, who call them Sitta carolinensis.

2. Muddy ground + warm temperature = more to sniff outside.

3. The burrito blanket (see previous post) has been washed, folded and stored away. Sigh. I miss that blanket already.

4. Less boots to "borrow" from the humans, but more summer shoes.

5. Windows open! Amplified noises! BARK!!!

6. The first opossum of the season creeping around under the trees at night. This was disturbing. From the front, it had the face of a barn owl, but from the side you could see its long snout. A shape-shifter? Mom says opossums are even scarier up close. One time she saw one in the bottom of an empty metal garbage can, staring up at her when she lifted the lid. It had a million teeth like an alligator. Mom is a city girl and didn't know anything about opossums. At first she thought it was someone's ferret that had escaped. A possum in the city? Apparently so!