Looking Forward to Spring

 

 

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The north slope of the valley is bare of winter snow
Under last years matted grass the green begins to show
Along the bottom melting snow starts the creek to run
As you watch a fan tailed grouse you can feel the heat of sun

On the chokecherry bushes and hawthorns the buds are shining black
Above the south slope on a straw pile, you see the birds are back
The coyote’s den has been redug, close to a poplar tree
Way down among the roots is where the pups will be

A crow up in a spruce tree is working on her nest
You can smell spring on a breeze coming out of the west
A new calf bawls out by the straw pile and mother answers back
The herd stirs uneasy in worry as a coyote trots down the track

Springtime in Alberta is a time of smells and sounds and slush
Mud between the house and barn when the snow turns into mush
Water running over the ice, the yard has become a bog
Over top your rubber boots when you go to slop the hogs

The two brood mares, hanging heavy in foal
Stand out by the fence and rub on a busted pole
Winter hair comes off in tufts and ends down under their feet
A magpie sneaks in to pick it up and carries it off in her beak

Her nest out back in the willows has a door front and back
Horsehair helps warm her eggs that never fall through a crack
Springtime here in Alberta, after a winter of cold and snow
I can’t think of a better place where I’d ever wish to go.

Looking Forward to Spring, excerpt from
Old Boots and Memories by Harold Webber © 2003.