spring, baby!

How can it be that in just a couple of weeks we've gone from this...

to this...

....to this!

From snow boots to sandals in a two weeks -- oh yeah. Welcome SPRING!

Look at all the new life emerging in the gardens!

In March, we went to see the tundra swans. (It's become an annual spring tradition, along with going to a local sugar shack to see maple syrup being made. Makes us appreciate that liquid gold even more.) About twenty thousand of these gorgeous white birds spend a couple of weeks in the area on their way to the Canadian arctic. I couldn't get any great shots with the new camera, but here are a couple of my faves from what I did take...

Yesterday, we took the girls and the dog for a walk at the beach. Really, we went for a walk on the ice field that's still at the beach. The contrast of the blue sky against winter's white remains was quite stunning. Maia was so moved by the scene that she burst into a spontaneous song of praise, the beauty of which I cannot convey.

Eliana had two questions on arriving at the beach: "Are there crabs here?" (She was so sweet on the little crabs under the rocks at the Pacific ocean a year ago.) And: "Are we going swimming today?"