Spring is in the air

Even in winter there's a certain beauty about the marsh. But with the approach of spring comes a sense of things being on the brink of coming to life again. Under the ice in this scene the turtles and frogs are awaiting the warmth of the sun, as are the buds on the gray birches at the left. The muskrats in the lodge at centre left will soon be selecting mates - if they haven't already - to produce the season's new crop. And before we know it, the male red-winged blackbirds will arrive and claim their territories here among the cattails.