Spring Has Arrived

Yesterday Liz emailed photos of her backyard shed in Gt. Barrington, where she and Bruce keep some yard tools and the bird seed. The largest bear she has ever seen decided it needed the bird seed more than the birds did, and proceeded to destroy the front of the shed. It attacked the front door, ripping off trim, then the nearby siding, exposing the interior 2 by 4s, which it unsuccessfully tried to bite and scratch through. In the process, it ripped up the ground, and threw whatever it could drag out of the shed past the studs onto the nearby ground.
Liz said, "I tried to scare him away by clapping my hands and yelling at him but he wouldn't budge. Instead he puffed himself up and growled & snorted at me. I decided I better go back inside."
We guess that it's time to take down the bird feeders.
On the way to M...'s this morning, we were startled by a large barred owl crossing immediately ahead of our car. This round-headed denizen of wooded river bottoms and swamps may have been one of the pair we heard a few nights ago, hooting back and forth across the field behind our cottage.
After breakfast as we drove into our garage, we couldn't help but notice that the morning sun had opened the first of M's daffies, which seemed to trumpet spring's arrival. (Click any photo to enlarge.)
Keeping time with its name, M's Lenten rose also has blossomed, this white blossom a few days ahead of its purple cousins. So far, this spring seems to arrive right out of the text book.