Signs of Spring

As I sit here at my desk in Cochrane, my Weather Network app tells me it is -14 outside right now, and it “feels like” -20. I look out my window to find another fresh dusting of the white stuff. What is the date again?? Didn’t the first day of spring happen recently? While it doesn’t “feel like” or even look like spring out at the moment, can I say trust me, there are signs of spring? You just have to pay attention to nature.

Many of my readers remember me as a prototypical “Farmer’s Daughter” having grown up on a patch of 150 acres in Southwestern Ontario. I learned to watch nature as my father taught me for signs of just about everything. Spring. Approaching storms. The severity of the coming winter. But most importantly, we watched the natural world in awe, especially in the spring because signs of new life, new hope, new beginnings always appeared right about now. The pungent smell of the earth as the sun finally thaws it and prepares it for new growth. The sky takes on washed out pastel shades rather than the deep blues and hues of winter. My favourite sign though was calving season. We had a beef cattle operation (albeit a small one compared to what I see out here in the heartland), and March usually meant brand new, awkward, gangly, furry friends to play with. So last Saturday when I was out for a photo adventure along “The Cowboy Trail” near Pincher Creek, I was rewarded with the sight you see above, a mother and her brand new calf. I pulled over, grabbed my camera and approached with caution as it was obvious that this was a fresh new calf just recently born. The little dear was still a bit goopy (that’s a word) and as I started taking pictures, it made its first awkward, gangly steps. The spindly legs wobbled like a leaf in the wind. The mum started her clean up ritual and I was, as always amazed.

Spring is here folks. I promise!

If you haven’t had a chance yet, please take a look at my new gallery of Alberta awesomeness found here. And as always, thanks for coming along on my Vagabond Adventures!