At the end of February we can feel the days getting longer and the warmth slowly growing too. It's a nice time to explore the outdoors to notice some of the things that have been resting all winter and will soon come back to life. In the early mornings large frost crystals might be seen. They can make some plants look like they are in full bloom again with big delicate icy petals.
Here I saw old goldenrod weeds making their own snow angels as the wind blew them back and forth.
Milkweed pods continue to disperse their seeds. On this foggy warm winter day the sky looked like delicious yogurt. I just wish I had a spoon to dip into it. I bet it would taste fine.
New flocks of birds are starting to return. These ones are starlings. Did you count them all? In this picture I see clues about how birds fly as each one has its wings and tail in a different position in flight.
I like this time of year for exploring the thawing creeks. Breaking ice is one of my favorite things to do. We only play on the little creeks and puddles and stay away from the deep and dangerous ones!
I always end up getting pretty wet out there. Sometimes my winter clothes get so wet and heavy that I can hardly walk back home again! Every night my mittens, boots and snowsuit dry by the fire of the wood stove, and will be warm and ready for a new adventure in the morning.
This mild weekend outdoors has been a nice way to end the month of February. Now I look forward to March, and doing lots more sledding before the snow is all gone!