January thaw

Over the last couple of days, we've gotten the annual January thaw. Much of the lawn is bare, and the snowbanks have that dirty grey look. It's just enough to make one lose heart with winter. If any of you Americans have ever wondered why older Canadians have flocked to the shores of Florida at this time of year, consider the effect of that much dampness on the senior skeleton.
The big advantage to all of this, however, is that those crazy snow piles are also in the process of melting down. There have been times when I wondered if I was going to be able to get out to the car.
I was walking back from the garage earlier this morning, when I saw the squirrels running around. They were checking up on the food they had stashed away in the fall. During the heavy snow fall, there wasn't a creature to be seen for the most part. I even heard a couple of birds stirring about. Everything is waking up long enough to get out and stretch for a bit.
Very few animals in North America truly hibernate. Even bears will get up once in a while during the winter, given a warm spell like this one. Sometimes I wish that I were still out in the country, so that I could look about and try to find signs of my forest neighbours. Wildlife has the ability to make you stop and just watch for a while, like the rest of the world doesn't exist for those few seconds.
Once, when I was a young boy, I was sitting in a drainage ditch, contemplating building a fort there for the summer. All of a sudden, four deer, two doe and two yearlings, rushed over my head. Once I got over the initial scare, I sat for several minutes in awe of the speed and beauty of the animals. The whole idea of a fort was forgotten.
The January thaw is a bit of a break for all of the wild things, a chance to get to food without having to dig for it so much.
If you are seeing any such weather, keep your eyes open. Who knows what you will see. A caveat though, keep your garbage sealed tight. The skunks and raccoons are making an appearance as well.