All I wanted to do was go outside to get the mail.

Walking down the driveway, holding my pants higher to avoid touching leftover puddles from yesterday’s rain, two messengers appeared, announcing the immediate changes of the winter season.

Life in the time of Covid has been an endless hibernation. I cannot remember the last time I was outside for more than the essentials. I have not heard sounds of non-human life in so long. Anything foreign to my ears is like hearing an old song for the first time in years.

So what a startling sound it was as I tiptoped down to the mailbox. Birds swooshed over my head, screeching with abandon. It was like their internal alarm clocks set off and no one was hitting the snooze button.

I pulled the mail out of the box. I patted my hand all the way in to make sure I had it all.

Before my hand came out, I let out a little oooh. A huge brown bunny with a palm-sized cottontail raced past me into the front lawn bushes.

Look! Up in the sky and in the snow!

It’s a bird. It’s a bunny. (No planes.)

Knock knock. Who’s there?

It’s Spring! Sort of. Almost. Getting there. Maybe. ;>