Winter Lawn

Walking Phoebe recently, we've both enjoyed walking on the lawn that has been exposed by the thaw.  It's all matted down and pale but I swear I could smell spring a couple days ago.  There is a long stretch on the south side of the house that is exposed, and we skip through the snow so we can walk in the grass.  She seems really intrigued by the smells that have accumulated over the winter.  I'm sure she can smell where the deer have passed, but I wonder what other smells are rising from the warming earth.  Squirrels? - probably; voles? - likely; neighbor cats? - 'fraid so; opossum? - tracks have been seen.  I love watching the earth wake up as spring approaches.  Lawns green up, meadow plants begin poking through the cover of last years brown stems and bare patches fill with tiny seedlings.  The next chapter is just beginning.