Signs of Spring

 For some reason, this winter seemed very long. It wasn't a bad winter; snow didn't drift high or anything, but we did have snow.  The west-east (and south) interstate was closed multiple times because of wrecks--almost all related to CMV's (commercial motor vehicles) on the mountain pass.  One incident involved 98 vehicles but no fatalities.  South in the mountains, there is still a lot of snow, but there are only dirty drifts here and there in town. It was exciting to look out the window today and see the golden crocus blooming.  The bulbs are always first and I have to spray Deer Out to prevent the resident deer from eating them. The hellebores are budding, too, but the deer don't seem interested in them for some reason. Spring is almost here!   (I changed my header image to show the "bachelor" bull elk in one of their last weeks in the valley; several have started to shed their antlers as is evident by the bare heads of a few in the photo. They have moved back to the mountains now.)