I will say this and get it out of the way first: I hate Daylight Savings Time

I hate the time change, even though it is one of the signs of Spring and we all look forward to Spring. So, in a way, I guess it’s okay.
Other signs of Spring that I have seen and heard include seeing some returning birds and some changing the way they sing and call.
I heard a sandhill crane about a week ago, then yesterday on my walk I saw a pair in the neighbor’s field; I heard them again this morning while I was feeding lambs. The lambs are one of the reasons I dislike the time change because I try to keep them on a schedule and the time change makes it harder. Well, apparently, amidst all of this Spring springing around us, I offended a raven.
On Tuesday morning, while I was feeding the lambs at about 7 a.m., I heard a raven’s rattling call from somewhere nearby. After I put the babies back inside the barn, I stood back and looked for the perpetrator: it was sitting beautifully on the light pole. He cawed a couple of times so I said, “Good Morning to you, too!” Its head snapped around to look at me and it huffed its feathers, so then I said, again, “Well, hello!” and, with that, it huffed its feathers again and took off, cawing loudly to let me know I had bothered it and it was not happy with me.
So it goes. Let’s look at some other signs of Spring:
The kochia weed is germinating and starting to grow.
The grass peeking through the dead over-wintering residue.
The songbirds are starting to come back. I have seen meadowlarks, robins, white crowned sparrows, song sparrows, and lark sparrows. While these birds don’t travel too far, I rarely see them in the dead of winter.
And the songs of the birds are changing. They are starting to make a happier sound as they begin looking for mates and preparing for the summer and raising youngsters. The robin sounds completely different in the Spring, their song is more lilting and uplifting. The gold finches, which haven’t really started changing color yet, nonetheless are doing their Springtime ‘seeee’ call. I always think it’s like they are asking me to look and see Spring is coming.  Even the little English sparrows, which are everywhere all the time, sound so much happier in the coming Spring.
So look, listen, and observe, because even though there is another snowstorm predicted, Spring is on its way.
Thursday is Pi day, so here is one of my favorite pie recipes:

Great Grandma’s
Fresh Peach Pie
1/8lb butter, softened
1 Cup sugar, scant
5 Tbsps flour (gluten-free flour substitutes well)
Cinnamon to taste
3 ½ medium peaches
Pie crust
Mix butter, flour, sugar, and cinnamon together to make a crumb mixture. Line pie pan with crust, placing half the crumb mixture on the bottom of crust. Peel peaches and cut in half, remove pits and place peaches, cut-side down, over crumb mixture with one half of a peach in the center. Top with remaining mixture. Bake at 425ºF for 10 minutes, then lower oven temp to 350ºF and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until pie is bubbly and crust is golden. (Note: if the peaches are very juicy, some additional flour may be used.)
I find this pie to be somewhat soupy, but it is one of the best I have ever had.