The Virginia bluebells are in bloom all along the C&O canal towpath where I walk each morning. They are shades of pink and purple until they open up into a wondrous blue. For some reason, my dog Fiona is attracted to them and loves to push her nose into the clumps along the path.

My other favorite wildflower is called Dutchman's breeches, for reasons that will be obvious when you look at them close-up. There's a bumper crop of them along the river this spring, grabbing their brief chance to bloom, along with the other wildflowers, before the leaf canopy steals all of the sunglight. Don't they just look like pantaloons hanging out to dry?

I'm trying hard to shed my winter blahs, to embrace the short spring season before the heat and humidity come to stay like unwelcome guests. And nature is trying its best to seduce me. This morning when I was meandering along the path, a pileated woodpecker called and flew right past me, then landed on a big branch. I don't know why there's such a fuss about the all-but-gone ivory-billed woodpecker when the pileated looks almost the same, except for the color of its bill. I still get a thrill when I see one.

When you spend a good chunk of your day working on the computer, as I've been doing, there's nothing better than going for a walk, especially if you're lucky enough to have the Potomac River and C&O Canal only a few miles away. Sure beats getting out the mower or doing yard work.

Good-bye, winter.