Olly Olly Oxen Free!

Spring has been playing serious game of hide-and-seek with us this year. It's nearly the end of April and things are still looking rather bleak outdoors.

So, today I headed outdoors, with my camera in hand, to see if I could find where spring is hiding.

I stopped at the park and found a giant worm.

The lawns are greening up, and this tree is trying to leaf out. 

Here's a bud up close. 

I found a few flowers along the path,

and some green grass here, too. 

I think a shorn sheep is a good sign of coming spring.

And also freshly tilled land.

There are lots of ducks on the pond. I couldn't really tell, but I think that cluster of ducks in the middle of the picture is a bunch of babies.

Here is a closer look. They were pretty small. 

Blue sky and birches. Just waiting to bud out.

 An empty nest waiting for eggs and baby birdies.

The cormorants are back on the lake. They always leave before winter and return for the summer, so yay!

This tree is on the brink. Notice the greenish-yellow color?

This might just look like a picture of clouds and sky, but if you look closely there are some black splotches which are actually some giant mosquitoes that were flying around. 

Nothing says spring more than a kite stuck in a tree.

And I found a few flowers, too. Does anyone know what theses red ones are?

Grape hyacinths were popping up all around. I love them.

So were dandelions. See the bee?

And these little blue things, too. I think they're a weed, but I've always liked them. I used to pick tiny bouquets of them for my mom.

I think I won this game of hide-and-seek, but we'll see who comes out ahead tomorrow as the weather forecasters are calling for snow again.