After the Rain

I never thought I'd say this, coming from the rainy west coast to the arid sunshine of Calgary, but waking up to the sound of rain in the night, and seeing the evidence this morning was absolutely wonderful. 
On our neighbourhood walk this morning I could see the difference last night's shower made to the landscape. The grass is greener for one thing.  And those green shoots proved irresistible to Libby who had to stop and have a nibble and a sniff.

Please excuse the photos - I was taking them one handed while she roamed and grazed.  She was so intent on having a taste of the first fresh green shoots I couldn't get her to even lift her head.

Matter of fact, all these photos were taken on the fly, so to speak - or rather on the other end of a straining lead as we power walked our route from sniff to sniff.  The scents this morning were delightful and irresistible to Libby.  Well,I knew they would be.   It is heartening after the long winter to see what a little warmish nighttime rain shower does to the mood of the plants in the neighbourhood and how the rain freshens everything and makes it seem brighter..  This giant poplar tree at the playground is budding out, and already dropping it's sticky buds onto the sidewalk.  The Jacobs Ladder, found in a neighbour's garden and still surrounded by last year's woody stems, is brilliant green, and the sedum sheltered by this broken pot sparkled with raindrops in the sunshine.  I think we've turned a corner here, but keep your fingers crossed for us. 
At any rate, I couldn't resist the seedy isle at the store this afternoon.

If all goes well and the weatherman is on target, it will be a warm weekend here.  Time to pull everything out of the garden shed and re-arrange it for the spring and summer seasons.   Time to pull out the little greenhouse shelves and set things up.  Time to store the snow shovels at the back of the shed for the season and pull out the garden spades.  Time to plant the potatoes in the potato barrel and the garlic in the raised beds.  Time to get organized and clear away fall and turn the garden toward spring.   Isn't that lovely.? And all it took was one small rain shower to rocket us into spring.