Winter's over ...

... be my darling.
Long time coming but now snow is gone!

It's not entirely true, but true enough for today. Oh, the glory of sunshine and well above freezing temperatures!

I have family and friends that moved to warmer states (and they are reading this, so here's a *wave* just for you :)) and while I can certainly understand their desire to not have to endure the Michigan winters, there is something about the arrival of spring that makes it worth the cold and snow.
Like you don't appreciate the highs as much if you haven't experienced the lows.

We went for a walk earlier, the first REAL walk of the year, a power walk. With muscles aching and shortness of breath. It was lovely. And everyone we encountered smiled and said something about what a wonderful day we're having and how spring is finally here. I also saw a baby squirrel.

And yes, we could have snow again next weekend, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Today was beautiful.

Oh, and here's a gull. It swooped in while I was feeding the geese and ducks and kept coming back and posing :)