Bare Ground!

Readers in more temperate climates may wonder what the big deal is. But up here in Willow, this is major news stuff. We have bare ground along the driveway!
That brown stuff is bare ground. We haven't seen it since October last year. As you can see there is still a lot of the white stuff, AKA snow, but it is actually melting. I drove to Anchorage this weekend; from Big Lake south there are just a few patches of snow; none in Anchorage. Gosh! Golly! The ground, of course, is frozen after a few cm deep. But we are getting there. My shop door is clear; I can get in without ice axe and shovel. Double gosh and golly. And I got into my driveway today without engaging four-wheel drive. Triple gosh and golly. It happens every year; one would think one could come to expect it, but it is always a minor miracle.