Spring time

Some signs of spring:
- Snow melting. Not a minute too soon
- A flower outside great west-life 2 mornings ago! Granted, it was by the warm air outlet, but still
- The intriguing sensation of walking outside in beginning of April in below-zero degrees. At this southern latitude, the sun is strong, and thus the illuminated side of my body is melting while the side in shadow is freezing. Bizarre.
- Canada geese flying north. Intriguingly, they started coming early, apparently led by daylight rather than temperature. Dangerous, I'd say...
- 2 days ago I took out my bike, and went to the Forks and back. I thus sprayed my new amazingly awesome spring jacket with mud.
- Best of all: General conference, always first weekend of April. If anyone ever doubted the suitability of the new president of the church, the talks he gave at this conference really showed that he's the right person.
- Not as much fun: end-of-PhD- (timewise) -stress, emphasized further by upcoming advisory committee meeting (beginning of May) and conference (end of May) for which the abstract I submitted includes promises of things I have yet to accomplish.

As I was cycling the other day, there was a guy standing underneath one of the bridges over Assiniboine, playing his baryton saxophone (totally amazingly), and 2 geese were listening swimming in one of the few open parts (despite the warm temperatures now, there was still loads of ice) of the river. I don't know how winnipeggers can stand the long winters. It's as if one walks around in hibernation, and when spring comes, I wake up with all the nature, and things are real again. I do like the intensity of the winter, but the length...?