Winter's End

"It was the time of year when winter seemed almost done, but spring had not yet quite shown its face. Snowdrops and the catkins of alder are all very well, and certainly signal the stirring of something or other, but what animals like the Rat and the Mole really want to see and feel is bright warm sunshine on the budding branches, and what they yearn to hear and smell is the rushing song of the smaller birds busy about their broods, and the first balmy scents of the bluebells through the wood, and the violet on the banks.
Then, too, both knew full well that winter was quite capable of asserting itself again, and bringing upon them all its cold and rain, winds and hail, as if to say, 'I'm soon going for quite a time, but this is just to remind you that one day I shall be back.'"

"The Willows in Winter" by William Horwood