When It's Springtime in Alberta!

After weeks of unending winter, spring has burst upon us. Almost overnight, the muted browns and grays of winter seemed to transmute into the giddy green of spring. What a joy it is to feel the warmth and see new life unfold.
 
I have tried to spend as much time outdoors as possible over the past weeks, exploring the wonderful big backyard of Central Alberta.
 
Male yellow-headed blackbirds—beautifully adored in yellow and black—liven up our wetlands with their colour and activity. It is quite comical to watch them sing: they spread their tail and wings, stretch their neck, gape their beak skyward and—ever-so-earnestly—utter a series of miserable, rusty-door-hinge-like squawks.