Signs of Spring. Kind of.

The snow is still everywhere , but has decidedly retreated. Whenever we pass a bit of turf, we yell, "Grass!" The walls of plowing that gave our driveway a tunnel effect have now flattened to almost nothing. You still can't find the entrances to parking lots easily, landmarks are obscured, and crossing a mounded median half-blinded still takes guts, but it's manageable.
The retreating snow, gray and dingy, now reveals the war wounds the landscape has received. Lawns bordering neighborhood streets are maimed by the gouges of snowplows. Whole sections of curb are reduced to chunks of gravel. Mailposts everywhere are bent like matchsticks. Mailboxes themselves are reattached with whatever is at hand: rope, duct tape, Christmas lights. One enterprising neighbor created a whole new delivery system with a plastic snaplid shoebox stuck to a broomstick. The ugly side of a snowfall is made known.
But for us, there was indeed a welcome result of the melt-off. While walking the dog past MeiWei's friend's house, a round, blue, bucket-like shape was rearing. Looking closer, I saw the Ultimate Sign of Spring: The Boot!!!
Yes, the boot that Meiwei stepped right out of at the height of some blizzard or other two weeks before had emerged, sodden and encrusted but still
more beautiful than a crocus. Surely spring must be on its way!