Welcoming Spring

On April 29, I wrote about Spring's Slow Arrival and about Promises of Spring on May 2. But today I rejoice to say that WINTER IS OVER! =) Spring has truly arrived in the Arctic and I am welcoming it with all of my heart. What a wonderful season! The singing of the birds, the warming air cleansed by melted snow, sunshine the whole day (and most of the night) long, the first smile-inducing sprigs of grass popping out of the cold earth. (enormous sigh) At this point we can see more dirt than snow -- even so, folks are still driving their snow machines!

All of the rapidly melting snow creates gigantic puddles. "Pond" is better word. Our neighbor's house was in risk of being flooded so the city had to pump out some of the water.

We have a nice "pond" in our yard, as well. Monday my siblings and I cleaned up our yard. We live in the center of the village so we "gather" a lot of trash during the winter. It all suddenly appears as the snow melts away. Snow is very deceptive!

Bird seed for our little feathered friends

And here's one of them! This is a Savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) and isn't it just the sweetest thing? I love the yellow patch above its eye.

It just blends right in with the grass. Isn't that amazing?

I'm so excited! I'm finding more and more green things growing every day! I can't wait to see flowers!!!

Moss is so fascinating...

Yesterday was a beautiful day -- perfect for taking pictures around the village.

All children, especially little boys, love playing in puddles. =)

To play in puddles you need a good pair of boots. My sweet little friend Tiana has some growing to do before these boots fit her! This little girl is always smiling and loves to give hugs. Her happiness brightens the darkest day.

Children are also happy to be able to ride their bikes again.

There goes a snow machine!

The ice should be breaking up around the end of this month. As the snow melts in the village, it all flows down to the ocean -- that's why you see so much water on the surface. If you look closely, you can see that there is open water just past the edge of the pack ice.

I saw a few boys playing along the beach. Perfect timing! They made my pictures much more interesting. =)

I didn't notice until I opened this picture that a little siksrik had peeked its head out of its hole for a picture! How cute!

Here's Laura, another of my little friends. She comes to Bible Time faithfully! She's so pretty all dressed in pink.

Three girls having a chat. (Have you counted all the pairs of rubber boots in this post? =D)

I'll leave you with one last picture of my friend Tiana. I hope you've enjoyed seeing what my world looks like as it transforms into spring!

Let us leave our winter behind and "come away" with our King.

"For, lo, the winter is past... The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away." (SOS 2:11-13)