I have expected to see my crocuses squashed and broken under the weight of the recent snowfall. Instead, they emerged victorious and wasted no time to greet the spring snow sun.

A house finch joined the usual chorus of cardinals, robins, chickadees and song sparrows today. I heard a downy woodpecker in the forest.

While walking in the forest today, I had to stick to the large paths, as the smaller ones are too muddy to follow. I couldn’t hear the birds, silenced by the cacophony of human voices, and I kept thinking: what if we just learned to keep quiet as a species? What if our survival depended on our ability to be still and listen.

Oh, and how could I forget the wonderful walk to the city park we took this morning. We halted on a little bridge listening to the brook. (“Mama, did you know that water sings?!”) and soon were joined by a girl a little older than my daughter. The girl, Layla, took us to the stones at the edge of the brook and taught us to “fish” for leaves and sticks in the stream. It was wonderfully fun, even as Elise’s foot slipped into the water.