After securing landowner permission, we were anxious to hike in the Dirt Hills near Avonlea after enduring a long, chilly spring indoors. The weather was perfect and we started the hike early as the afternoon was going to be windy and hot.

One of the first things that caught our eye were the crocuses! What a pleasant surprise!

These ones were so fresh, that they still had their pistols in the center.

We found remnants of last year’s honey stores in a wooded area. It seemed to have flowed down a little creek like a boat. Round and flat, it was completely empty.

Killdeer courtship entertained us on a gravelly area where they were likely going to lay their eggs.

This little hoodoo surprised us at the base of a steep slope.

The scrape marks on this boulder reminded us of the enormous power of the glacial ice sheets that deposited the erratics here.

Limestone boulders have sharp peaks on the surface. Cattle and bison are known to scratch themselves and, over thousands of years, polish them smooth again.

Lichens grow on rock surfaces slowly breaking them down. Three different ones are seen in the above photo.

Ladybugs are out as well. They seem to have wintered over well.

She was walking up each blade of dried grass. At the end, she would turn around and go back down, find another to climb up.

But the highlight for me were these crocuses, a nice pop of colour signalling the beginning of actual spring.