Spring has Sprung...

Spring has Sprung!

Having grown up in England, I was used to an extended Spring season, which could last for several weeks. I used to love watching for the budding of the trees, followed by the colourful blossoms that would signify that the final vestiges of Winter had finally given of their last. Back in the U.K., March wasn't usually a month of snow; rather, the gradual transition to Spring was anticipated in an old English proverb: 

It can be easily imagined how surprised I was to find that, in Ontario, that gentle transition between the two seasons was anything but gradual. Every year, it seems that we are still shoveling snow one week, and then, the following week, we are enjoying that all-but-short period between cold weather and hot days, where it feels good to be out in the fresh, cool air, enjoying the warmth before the bugs catch on to the change! 

Nature's transformation - at least, in this Province - follows the same sequence, but a lot faster, which is why we tend to revel in the approach of the hot and humid summer via the short amount of time allotted to the change. 

Moving from Southern Ontario to the North, I was expecting an even shorter Springtime. Pleasantly, that is not the case and, although it is still short compared to Spring across 'the pond', it is relatively similar to what happens further south. 

It is truly awesome to watch our wonderful city of Elliot Lake burst forth into bloom - and we're lucky to have a whole host of crab-apple trees dotted throughout the city which are laden with fruit in the Fall, and full of rich blossoms in the Spring. Here are some photographs we took the other day, of just how beautiful our home town becomes when the colour emerges out of the remnants of the snow.

Lovely white blossom, just north of the town.

One of the crab-apple blossoms in the city centre.

The ever-present dandelions emerge by the side of the lake.

Beautiful Purple Sand Cherry, by St. Joseph's Hospital, here in town.

View of the hospital, showing blossoms backed by a glimpse of the lake.

People in town also bring their gardens to life, and some are lucky enough to have blossoming trees on their property... 

The ground cover in these next three pictures is a joy to see when we drive past them. 

... and even the yard at the back of our building has been tended...

Alas, apart from the garden flowers, most of the blossoms have disappeared until next year. However, they have given way to a lush, vibrant green that now surrounds our city, announcing that summer is just around the corner!!

Spine Beach - just minutes away from our apartment.