Signs of Spring

While daytime temperatures here have been in the 50s and 60s - what we consider cold, crisp winter weather - and we've been getting heaps of rain, the birds and plants are clearly under the impression that Spring is well on its way.

The swallows are back in town, soaring here and there and neighborhood birds are visibly perched singing a bold new beautiful tune while a female listens intently nearby. How can she not be impressed by that beautiful song!

And the minnows in our fish tank were acting rather frisky the other day and I had a hunch... yesterday I noticed one has a very big belly!

Rain and cold, it is still such a great time to be outdoors and see the world around us come alive.

Here are some pictures of what we found today. We took Daddy for his first visit to one of our favorite nature sanctuaries in the middle of urban Irvine.

We saw an abundance of fresh growth of Caterpillar Phacelia along the side of the trail...




Fuschia-flowered Gooseberry - my field guide says this is a hummingbird favorite.




There were many of these beautiful purple Vervain flowers just starting to bloom.




My son found this collection of animal bones. We haven't identified it yet, but judging from the size of it, we're thinking it was either a fox or a bobcat. Unfortunately, we couldn't find its skull.




And here's a beautiful Osprey...






Look at those beautiful clouds and the sunshine skimming across the lake.




Truthfully, with only 5 more weeks of pregnancy to go, I would have been perfectly content sitting on the couch with my feet up knitting all day instead of walking trails, but thankfully, we got out instead and I'm so glad we did!

And to top it all off, my husband surprised us with this beautiful chocolate goodness after dinner! You just never know what nature will inspire ;-)