Whew! Spring approacheth. We could have temps in the upper fifties by mid-week and goodbye snow! End of winter is one thing, the end of the world yet another. With earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and Turkey (today), some folks are saying we are in the so-called Biblical End Times. Hey they could be right! (NOT) This weekend I stumbled onto to Jack Van Impe on TV and he was ranting to his wife Rexella about end times, new world orders, the antichrist and Obama. No mention however of unmarked black helicopters.  I never knew Van Impe was located in Troy, Michigan. Now I wish I didn’t know. This is the guy who predicted the end of the world with Y2000. Now he’s pushed that event  back a dozen years to 2012. I don’t want to pick on what anyone believes, but for crying out loud. See who is preaching and listen to what they say and how they say it, and how often they ask for money, and how much merchandise they have to sell, and what their personal lifestyles are. If the end of the world is upon us, why would someone continue to sell stuff and build stuff? Huh?

We are looking for sure at end of winter looming, and the signs seem clear. Redtail hawks are pairing up. Yesterday the redbelly woodpeckers got real yackety over  in the oaks and as the snow recedes we see myriads of empty discarded schnaaps bottles where folks apparently have been sashaying at night and tossing aside the empties.  Best of all in the afterglow of the winter Olympics I found a discarded joint, wrapped in Canadian paper. Too funny. High school skateboarders last week were prancing about in T-shirts when the temps were 37 and chill factors around 20.Eventually they’ll learn.

Force of Blood reached 87,000 words over the weekend and has somehow led me to the Sleeper Lake Fire of 2007 and a fair amount of 350-year-old Upper Peninsula history. Now what could that possibly have to do with conservation officers?  Stay tuned… If you’re out walking and driving around, there remain all sorts of interesting images to see and entertain you. I share a few.  Just over a week until St. Paddy’s Day. Eirinn go brach! Over.

Sidewalk Bear Shadow. This would be true endomorphic ursine.

Beakus Heywoodus, a genetic thing spread throughout the clan worldwide.

The wolf over the writing desk.

Wrong Way. The redtail hawk, 12 o'clock over the sign. Saw the sign and veered to a landing in the tree, apparently to revisit route choices.

Last ice

Ice Cave at sidewalk level. Lean over and look and you will see all sorts of interesting ice forms.

Rabbit on the Ice Mountain