Feb 1: spring is coming!

It was a balmy 10F when I left at 6:45 am this morning and it wasn't even pitch dark. It would have been colder but clouds rolled in over night. I'm glad! We had a house guest who got up early so he snapped this photo of me ready to go on my ride. This is pretty much my full cold-weather gear. I have lots of layers underneath my new $36 down jacket (not vegan, oops), and snow pants over my stretch pants, and warm boots and giant warm mittens, and face mask and goggles:

Okay, as I said before, I can't post every day anymore, but just thought I'd update about the exciting signs of spring. I heard cardinal songs yesterday, and chickadee and nuthatches this morning. These are their spring mating songs. That's gotta be the first sign of spring. Yea!

It wasn't my imagination!

Housemate couldn't wait to tell me that our Wild Birds Unlimited newsletter says that "Late in the month, as days lengthen, Tufted Titmice and Cardinals begin to sing." So it wasn't my imagination. So maybe those were tufted titmice instead of chickadees singing. I'll have to listen to my birdsongs. Great, something to look forward to on my morning bike rides!