They are back! The call of the Trumpeter Swan is most certainly the call of the return of spring! You can tell the swans, pictured at left, by the black beak that extends up toward the eyes and by the trumpeting sound they make. The Snow Geese make a much more mellow sound.

Although hundreds, if not thousands of swans and geese can be seen in the Skagit Valley at this time of year, we, too, here in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley, are graced by their presence. It’s always exciting to see them return on their way north to their summer breeding grounds.

But just about the time I am dancing ecstactically over the discovery of our first crocus, we get dumped on by a foot of heavy wet snow. And I do mean wet and heavy. The kind that breaks tree branches. The kind that tells fruit trees to go back to sleep. The LBBs (little brown birds) hovered around the feeder under cover of discarded Christmas trees, waiting for me to finish taking the picture so they could get some seed.

Of course, in light of what the East Coast is enduring, we can hardly complain. But it is still a reminder, even as I gleefully buy packet after packet of veggie and flower seeds, more than I can possibly plant, as I get out my nautical charts and kayak adventure guide books, and as I start planning our next mini-vacation escape – hold on – not so fast – Old Man Winter has not exhaled his last breath. Don’t forget your hat.