Temperature over 30 when I got up this morning for the first time in a while. The finches at the feeder are clearly searching the yard for nest sites and the air has a softness to it. The forecast tells me that less wood will need to be fed to the stoves this week. Not to say winter is over, here in Maine March is very much a winter month but with longer days and the sun gaining strength we can begin to talk about ice out.

I know winter is hardly over. It is still February but two sunny days in a row with temperatures in the 40’s have me thinking that spring is not far off! It helped to have a flock of male bluebirds visit the feeder yesterday (second time this winter) and to hear the other birds singing.

Nearly half of Americans didn’t go outside to recreate in 2018.

Sobering statistics in the Outdoor Participation Report show even kids are staying inside. “We should really be concerned as a nation that we are becoming an indoor nation,” Outdoor Foundation boss Lise Aangeenbrug says.