Winter wanes

It is mid Feb now and spring is still weeks away. Yet, there is a sense here that the most brutal days of winter have passed on. A few weeks ago, on a day when the high was -4, Mr Winter came as deep into our lives as this cycle of the sun would allow. Now when we spot him, as during yesterdays snow, he has his back to us, heading North, temporarily defeated.

We saw a bald eagle yesterday, near where this photo was taken. I was in my 30s before I saw my first one, while trout fishing in North Arkansas. This winter they have been a weekly sight.