The other day while looking at the calendar I realized that the spring equinox was fast approaching. Gazing outside my window at the four foot snow drifts, I wondered where the natural signs of spring were.

Over the past few weeks the Southern Chilcotin and the Coastal Mountains have endured a number of big snow storms. This has created wonderful conditions for my backcountry treks. I love being outside in the pristine beauty, fully absorbing the breathtaking vistas of the mountains. These are images I will always cherish, but after four months of snow I find myself getting itchy for something else.

Perhaps the feelings of restlessness, the yearning for change, the desire to see something different are all signs of the upcoming spring season. So spring can spark feelings. Interesting to note how a person can naturally feel the upcoming equinox. Aside from the days getting warmer and more daylight hours, I still wondered what else was different.

So I started to intentionally look for differences and to my surprise I noticed a lot of changes. First I heard subtle differences. The winds were bigger and woke me out of a deep sleep a couple of times. The trees creaked and groaned far more than usual. Underground streams from the melting snow could be heard and the ice on the lake was snap crackle popping.

I also heard bird songs and calls. Just one to start but now more and different new songs have joined the chorus. Just the other day I saw some bright red breasted birds trying to find something to eat. They seemed to struggle with all the snow. I have also seen a lot more animal tracks. The critter kingdom has been busy looking for food as well and I suspect new litters are making that task a challenge. Thank goodness the bears are still hibernating!

So spring may be slow to arrive this year, but it will come. There are lots of visible, audible and emotional signs that change is well underway. Noticing how it all started with the little things is a reminder that change doesn’t happen overnight.

Happy Spring!!