Today was a whole different scene with warmish temperatures and light rain.  After such nice summer-like weather for the past couple of days, today was almost depressing except we know the rain is needed to get things greening up and buds bursting.  It also helps take the frost out of the ground - especially the roads.  The temperature began to drop late this afternoon, and I got this photo of the upper end of the pond.  The fog was pretty dense along the meadows and over the pond itself.  In this second picture, what looks like the ice on the pond is actually fog.  Most of our snow is gone except a few patches in the woods.  We may have some snow showers tomorrow - the forecast is for "blustery" weather.  Then it's going to be somewhat cooler for the rest of the week, and would even be good sugaring weather if anyone still has their taps out.  I expect most have given up for this year after temperatures at or near 70 degrees.

We are expecting a few people to begin returning to the pond from their winter getaways in the next week or so.  The native Vermonters become restless and anxious to get back "up north" once spring arrives.  It's always good to see our friends coming back, a sure sign winter's on the way out.  The ice is beginning to show signs of breaking up, and once there's sparkling blue water, we all begin to feel the summer season is finally here. 

My daffodils are up nicely and should be blooming in another week or so.  I transplanted my rhubarb last year and went looking for it yesterday, but didn't find any evidence it's alive.  I sure hope I haven't lost it - rhubarb is one of my favorite early spring treats.  The ground is still pretty cold and wet, in spite of the warm days we had, so perhaps it's a tad too early to expect it to be coming along. One thing is for sure, gardening season will get here eventually and we'll have plenty to do.  Right now is just a teaser for what's to come.