Winter putting up a good fight

Image from the Fletcher wildlife garden website

The crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos) are getting restless; there were huge numbers of them flocking and cawing in the sumac bushes on the bluffs above the Ottawa River by Rockcliffe airport yesterday. The lengthening daylight will make them think about nest-building soon.

The blasting operations on the Rideau River began on schedule, with part of Sussex Drive closed to traffic while they dynamited the ice near the bridge there in anticipation of the eventual thaw. When I drove across in the late afternoon there were lumps of ice all over the road that had fallen from the sky in the process. I have heard a few explosions this morning as well.

Despite these harbingers of spring, winter is not giving in just yet. Today began with freezing rain and now snow keeps piling up in the city, with a Snowfall Warning in effect, 15 cm forecast by the afternoon.