The last days of snow and cold in the Rocky Mountains bring forth an almost mystical anticipation, and perhaps no one knows that more than the mule deer. For good reason too, because winter here can be a long, frozen road to travel.
I took this photograph just a few days ago, in what may turn out to be our last winter storm of the season in western Colorado.
The mulie is a patient creature, always willing to face the day with optimism and eternal vigilance. After all, you simply must, when so many things with teeth wish to eat you.
But no doubt, they too have had quite enough of wind, and the color of white, for now. Perhaps most famous for those iconic, antenna-like ears, you can almost watch them listening, for the murmurings, and tiny stirrings, of an awakening earth.
Can you hear it?
For in Spring, there is hope, always hope, and green grass growing...
Here's to spring, and what lies ahead!
By Michael Patrick McCarty
Active Member Outdoor Writers Association of America, and An Ambassador For 
Come On In - The Water Is Wild, and Free...
"How imperceptibly the first springing takes place!" - Henry David Thoreau
"The world’s favorite season is the spring.
All things seem possible in May."
—Edwin Way Teale, Naturalist and Author
Image Source https://pixabay.com/en/spring-spring-flower-dandelion-342610/