Signs of Spring

Ok, I think we've broken the back of winter in the Great Frozen North. The temperatures in Wasilla were into the high 50s and low 60s this last week. The forecast is for some overcast and rain possibly mixed with a little snow for the weekend. No accumulation expected.
I am officially calling it spring because of all the signs of spring I saw and smashed into on my way to work this morning. It started off with the cow moose with last year's calf in the yard this morning. Next, just after the Subaru had achieved cruising speed on Wasilla Fishhook Road, a grouse jumped into the air from the side of the road and zigged when he should have zagged. The chicken sized grouse makes a real loud thump when they impact your windshield at 50 miles an hour. Fortunately they don't have as much mass as say, a moose butt, so the windshield didn't suffer any damage. I assume the grouse did.
Just as we dropped off the ridge to cross the Knik/Matanuska flats, a flight of Sandhill Cranes flew overhead, a couple hundred feet above my windshield, fortunately. Across the flats the air was full of flocks of Canadian Geese returning from wintering in Mexico or where ever they go to escape Alaska in the winter. Along side the northern branch of the Matanuska River, a quarter mile from the road, was a small herd or "gang" of 5 moose munching away on delicious bushes.
As we arrived in Los Anchorage, we spied another moose walking along the anti-moose fence that parallels the Glen Highway. She was just north of Merril Field Airport and of course on the wrong side of the fence trying to find away out. I made a comment about there seemed to be moose everywhere this morning. Five minutes later we were sitting at a stop light at 5th and Cordova when a yearling moose stepped into the street just ahead of as and ambled across to the other side, ignoring all crosswalks and traffic signals.

Feels like spring to me!