Harbinger o' Spring

It is a week into March of 2005 and as of today, we are just 16 days away from the official beginning of spring.

And I noticed a harbinger of spring, right near my apartment.

A neighbor has a parrot and a cockatiel in a cage hung just outside their door. And with the unusually long, cold and wet winter affecting these parts this year, the birds had gone into a mode of silence, and many a times were even withdrawn from their perch outside the door to a warmer locale inside their house.

Today, just as I was removing mail from my letter box, I heard the familiar screech followed by cooing and cawing, and then more exquisite singing. As I rounded the corner toward my apartment, I noticed the birds in their familiar perch, merrily singing away, at the weather, at the skies, at me even...

And then I realized...ah..spring..is just around the corner!