Hope springs eternal

This post is in response to a comment from my sister, Sherrill, and one from Bill's sister, Phyllis.  Both said they would love to feel encouraged that Spring is indeed on its way.  I'm thinking Phyllis may need this more than Sherrill, since she lives in Winnipeg, where they were apparently in a deep, deep freeze yesterday.  Sherrill lives in Ottawa, and I think the temperatures there today are not all that different from ours in Vancouver.  Rather ironic that they mentioned this yesterday, just as BC was hit with varying amounts of snow.  Vancouver got off fairly lightly, but my blogging friend, dp, in a comment on Jean's blog, mentioned impressive amounts in Deroche and Jean posted the pictures to prove it in her corner of South Western BC.

Anyhow, I took a few minutes to seek out signs of Spring around the school today.  Not the most encouraging of searches, with a definite chill in the air, and a shivery feeling that sent me scuttling back into the school after only a short time.  But, as Alexander Pope said, "Hope springs eternal."

A close-up of a bud might be the strongest evidence.    

These seem to me like pussy willows, but they're greenish, when I believe they should be brown.  I cheated on this one.  I took the photo through the window in front of my desk.  
A close-up of the pussy willows, or whatever they are.  I like staring off into the window space, and imagining the buds unfolding, little by little.

I looked up that quote, "Hope springs eternal."  Well, to be truthful, Bill looked it up first, and I was intrigued to check out a few more details.  I learned that Alexander Pope is the third most quoted English poet, after Shakespeare and Tennyson. Just look at the long list of quotes attributed to him.  I also learned that at least one scientific study shows that, overall, mankind is more optimistic than not.

But even at my most optimistic, I couldn't come up with many more sign of Spring.  Then, I decided that birds getting ready to prepare a home and raise young must count.  So, one more photo of my now favorite bald eagle couple.

And one of a pair of geese, coming in to roost as the sun went down.  Oh.. and another sign of spring - the geese are roosting a little later each evening.
 I just like this crow.  I think it's the same one I photographed a couple of days ago.  I imagined it is looking at me with a friendlier expression lately.  It's leaning its head on that little branch, and I'm pretty sure there are some buds there.  I found a blog once written by a fellow who vowed he would take one new picture of a crow or crows every day for a year.  So, my repeat crow shots may be okay after all.  

Okay, I looked up to the mountains before I went, shivering, back into school, and had to admit, signs of Spring were few and far between today, but I tell you I feel it in the air.  That study of optimism was correct.  It's coming, I promise, to Ottawa and to Winnipeg too!  Hope Springs Eternal!