We have a Canada Goose couple who comes back every year. This week I saw them arrive.

When I went for a walk yesterday, I thought at first I was looking at a stray black cat that has been hanging around our farmyard. But this was not the shape of a cat. And it silently glided into the woods.

I followed it as quietly as I could, but it was watching me the whole time.

I was fortunate enough to get quite close.

The melanistic, or black, colouring on a woodchuck, is relatively rare. I hope I get to see this beautiful creature again.

Though the temperature and wind chill seem to indicate it is still winter, with -14C this morning and -19C wind chill, high atop a sun warmed poplar there is evidence that spring is on its way.