Hope-giving signs

There isn't a lot of green showing yet. But some is enough.

At Last
Not one moment too soon we are seeing those all important signs that Demeter has found her beautiful daughter Persephone.
I've heard boy robins singing their territorial declarations. Haven't seen any females in the neighbourhood yet but the boys wouldn't be singing if the girls weren't close by.
When I first wake up I can hear the fearless Red-wing Blackbirds boys singing their Spring song.
No blooming daffodils or green buds sprouting yet but I now believe there is hope.
I understand that there are predictions of more cold winters like this one for the next two decades.
Is this a curse? You know the Sleeping Beauty thorn forest surrounding the tower for a hundred years sortof thing.
I wonder how my grandparents and great grandparents coped and survived cold unforgivingly long winters on the Canadian prairies.
But then I have many questions about my ancestors' survival. For example, how did all those women survive menopause?
Where did they find their glimmers of hope?
How did they handle depression?
I am unable to organize my thoughts or priorities in the dark of winter. What did they do?
Organizing. Spring cleaning.
I am ready for these massive undertakings right now before the weather is truly lovely. But I am temporarily having to put all of this on hold -- as there is yet more work to be done on our street regarding the hook-up of our houses to municipal sewer.
In about two weeks time each household on our street will have driveways, lawns and flowerbeds dug up for pipe to be installed.
We can expect lots of dust and mud as concrete is sawed and hammered to make way for piping to enter our house.
This comes in addition to the several months of upheaval we endured last summer and autumn.
Not much point washing walls and such before that business is finished.
I am going outdoors in search of hope-giving signs now because I don't want to fall back into the darkness of winter's thoughts.