Opening tracks and springtime

It looks as if spring has arrived. I went for a quick "ski about" in the boonies and noticed how the warm rainy days that we have had lately had caused the snow to become soft. There was simply no icy crust left and I kept sinking knee deep all along the way. This slowed me down quite a bit, but I just kept on going, my aim was open a track to my hide, since I am planning on going out on saturday morning to take some pictures.

I eventually got to the hide and noticed that it had become loose. The melting snow had revealed the tiedowns I buried earlier. The snow had also melted from underneath the hide, tilting the whole thing over to one side and submerging it partly in water. I moved the whole system a few meters to a drier spot and re-did the tiedowns.

Arriving at the hide I noticed plenty of grouse tracks in the snow around the hide and a flock of ten birds took off nearby as I approached. The hide seems to be situated well.

My old friend from previous years had come back also, a sure sign that spring is here:
I also heard a crane calling out from somewhere amidst the fog, but did not see where it was. The sound seemed to come from quite far away. On my way back I saw bunch of tits amongst the trees along the dirtroad. I stopped for a moment and took a couple of quick snapshots:
It would have been nice to get a better picture of the longtailed tit in the second picture, but I decided not to stay and wait for a better shot this time around. I felt that I needed get back to the car and head for home and a hot shower.