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Keeping company just makes it feel warmer, sometimes. Sitting close, holding hands; flocking together.
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We took off together this afternoon, with the world slowly melting around us back towards its normal self. We wanted to see the familiar landscape of the Colonial Parkway under snow.
Silly us thought we’d have the place to ourselves.
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But no, lots of others had the same idea today; flocking together along the snow-narrowed roads between frozen “guard rails” of snow pushed up by the plows.
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Save for the sky, it was a “black and white” world of bare trees and pristine snow. And birds. Flocks of birds blown up the James from the coast filled the shallows of Sandy Bay, keeping one another company, and hoping for a bit of warmth from the sun.
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Snow still covers the sandy beach along the James River, but two sunny days in a row have melted much of the ice cover off of the waterways. Sheets of ice still cling along shaded north facing banks and snow still covers the push ups in the marsh.
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Can you imagine snuggling up with your mate in a winter home of frozen mud? I shiver just thinking of it, knowing that each of these snow-covered push-ups houses a sleeping family of muskrats waiting out the weather.
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Saturday’s sunshine brought us out of our hibernation for a few hours.
It was enough to feel a little warmth against the still frozen winds whipping off of the river. The urge to get out and move again is intense, and we were only a little surprised to share the road with bicyclists in thermal suits today. Their happiness in the sunny day was contagious.
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Longer days send their own signals to the trees, and many show swelling and opening buds despite the snow. We’re nearly at the spring equinox, coming very soon in the third week of March. Daylight Savings Time starts again next weekend, believe it or not.
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Each passing day brings us a little more light; a little more solar warmth in spite of the wintery weather map.
But wintery it is, still. Snow melting off of our roof refreezes into hanging icicles.
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The waterways will be solid ice again by morning, and the roads will be icy, too. Probably a good day to stay at home, and keep one another company.
Woodland Gnome 2015
Forest Garden 
That’s what my surroundings looked like last week. Today rain, rain and more rain. Still a nice day to snuggle…✿ Lovely post.
Thank you for the kind words. A wonderful day to snuggle and appreciate a quiet day indoors 😉 Best wishes, WG
A lovely post that made me smile and feel warm inside! Thank you for sharing the beauty of late winter in your part of the woods.
Thank you for such a ‘heart warming’ comment, Laurin 😉 We are trying to focus on the beauty of it all, and enjoy these days of leisure 😉 The heavy lifting of spring is just around the corner. Warm hugs, WG
I enjoyed your post today, a snapshot of some one else’s world. In the UK it is much the same in Scotland and the hills. Here in the west and Midlands spring is in the air!💜
Thank you Roz 😉 I’ve been a little surprised at how far ahead of us much of central and southern England remains this year- but we are a little behind our normal spring bloom schedule with an unusually cold winter. We will occasionally have a snow in April, but it always falls on blooming daffodils when it comes 😉 Thank you for visiting Forest Garden today. It is always such fun to have a view of someone else’s world- what makes WP addictive for me 😉 Best wishes, WG
Nice theme, keeping company. LIfe is much better with company, I agree, esp. if they are like you! 😉
Your world is looking quite chilly there. Interesting that the birds headed inland. What do they know that we don’t? Migration must be starting soon I would think. Do you see a lot of birds passing through your area?