First, there was an abundance of Canada Geese landing in the field, their winged descents a navigational wonder as they touched down on black-webbed landing gear close to the nearest, freeze-dried corn cob poking from the snow.
Then, I noticed, for the first time this winter, large, wild turkeys. So far away were their silhouettes, I would not have known they were turkeys had they not moved. Who can mistake the gobbly-gobble, neck-jerking, forward-stretch, of the wild turkey?
Still, the biting wind and warning storms made me hesitate to name the migration as the precursors of spring. False hope can leave one with frostbite in these climates.
But finally, one morning, with the sun trying to thaw the snow and ice covered ground, I heard the trumpeter of open water.

A sea gull cried from the skies beyond my view and I called back, thinking at first, it was a cat.
But the cry came again, and my heart gladdened for the gulls were here.
It won't be long now, I nodded to myself. The wind does not carry the smell of Spring yet, but the gulls know.
And so it comes, my friends, it comes.
Spring is on its way.

CaNature Eh!: Poetry About Nature in Canada