Hearts abound!

Spring has indeed arrived here in Maine and the past two days have been spectacular! The temperature here yesterday was 70 degrees and today was a bit warmer. Usually April can be a bit chilly and wet but I am not complaining! Mr. Bluebird has been spotted out and about, perhaps looking for a new home and Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal graced our yard with a visit! I have been able to get outside and clean up the leaves that seem to come from nowhere over the winter. Mark rakes them up every fall but each spring there seem to be plenty of them around the bushes. Everything is popping up fresh and pretty green in my garden. I love to get right down on the ground and dig about in the soil....nothing is as relaxing to me as doing that. Can you spot the very faint heart on the tree? The dogs and I have been out and about on the trail next door and for excursions around the brook.Found a pretty green mossy heart one day...its nestled among the roots of a tree.I spotted a wooden heart on another piece of wood out on the marsh. This heart looks to have stood the test of time and lots of different weather. Some afternoons the boys and I walk alongside the brook. The dogs keep me entertained by jumping into the muddy brook and bringing out sticks to chew on and then abandon. I throw the sticks back and sometimes they will go back into the brook and repeat the performance over and over. However their interest soon focuses on finding another stick! Buddy has brought out sticks that are four to five feet long but he loves the challenge! Little Java usually triumphantly comes up onto the bank with a stick less than a few inches long, but nevertheless he is as proud of himself as if it were a big log! I found this reflecting heart on one such walk.Waiting for Mark one day while he did an errand I happened to spot this green heart. It was painted on a wall in a parking lot. Glad I remembered to bring my camera along that day.Can you spot the little heart wedged into this tree branch? I found this in a small pool of freshwater alongside the trail. This piece of wood has a bonus heart-there are two of them. I was also fascinated by the intricate marking on the bark. A nice surprise to find a milky white heart on a tree.A bit of tree root shaped into a heart for us to enjoy.Another tiny wooden heart. I took this photo while the boys were busy snuffling, sniffing and snorting around in the dirt, on the look-out for a chipmunk or squirrel. I found a heart, they found nothing!At first glance I almost imagined this as a gaping mouth of a snake but luckily it was a nice heart instead!Do you see the little sideways heart?A very nice beaver left a heart for us to enjoy!I moved some wood in a pile out behind the house and a piece of bark fell off one of the pieces. There was a reason it fell off....see the little heart captured in it? Hope you have enjoyed the hearts, hope to find lots more in the coming days. Most days I am rewarded with a heart or two, and if I don't find one I am determined to find one soon.