One would have thought that we left this behind in Saskatoon, but this spring has been slow to arrive – March came in like a lion and went out like a polar bear. The bonus was that in March we got to spend a weekend skiing in our own forest walking distance from our house; the downside is that I am still riding to work on soft spiked tires with ski gloves. A friend at work told me that he has lived in Stockholm for 15 years now and this is the latest he has ever seen spring arrive – which I find very reassuring. The ice seems barely off the lake on Easter weekend, and our friends in Saskatoon have been paddling on the river for WEEKS.
Not the crispest tracks in the world, but not bad for a collection of volunteers working late on a Friday night in the local (free!) nature reserve. 
Getting set up on my classic skis. 
Neibour kids enjoying the steepest slope in our housing community – our backyard! 
The snow made it clear what the traffic is like around out house.