I was out working in the garden today. I dug up all the old vegetables from last year, including some extremely large kale trunks, which were starting to stink. I also cleared out all the old tomato vines, and discovered things starting to grow underneath them. It's still a chilly early spring here in Ithaca, but the crocuses are starting to bloom - I have a couple of little purple ones putting their heads out. The daffodils and tulips are starting to come up. When I cleaned up everything, I discovered that in one vegetable patch, the oregano was coming back, and it looked like (smelled like too) there were little garlic shoots coming up. Other things starting to peek above the ground were the beginnings of day lilies and irises, and possibly some pansies (if the hard winter didn't kill them).

Other signs of spring are that the cat has taken to staying out all night and stalking little creatures. For the last few days I've gotten up in the morning and discovered a new mouse carcass on the kitchen porch (fortunately not inside the house!)

The Canadian geese are flying north in big v-shaped formations. We've had songbirds for about a month, now, if not longer, and I think that there are cardinals around too. Also crows, although I'm not sure they've ever left.

Now that the sun is setting later, it's more hazardous driving home from work. A couple of weeks ago I nearly hit a deer crossing the road at dusk.

And, we just had Purim! Lots of masks & funny costumes - one friend dresses as Mr. Potato Head. I came as an elegant flapper - my hair in a black and magenta wig, wearing my party dress & feather boa, as well as my grandmother's mink coat (which I probably wouldn't wear any other time in Ithaca, certainly not out walking around, given the presence of some fairly militant animal rights folks here).