Spring?

A big thank you for all the appreciation shown for my 2000th entry. There are so many generous and positive people on blip that it is a virtual breath of fresh air in the Internet world!  I felt lucky to get a sunny day for that blip; it's so much easier to produce an optimistic picture when the sun shines. In contrast to today...
After a grey day of mist and rain we headed into town for the Left Party's party. This is part of the view from our host's apartment. More grey and mist, slightly illuminated by lights coming on as dusk sweeps in.
Outside that breakwater the sea was completely open two days ago but the wind has blown in a mass of soggy ice from the open sea. In the deep water harbour the cargo ship has sailed away leaving all those huge tubes, waiting to be bolted together as wind turbines. A boat has pushed into the northern sound, breaking through the ice and then turned around and taken a new route out.
Everyone at the party talked of a longing for  spring, and I'm not sure I said the right thing, saying I thought this WAS spring. Flocks of geese have landed, skeins of swans fly overhead, muddy fields are appearing, the smaller roads heave into bumps and troughs as the frozen ground thaws. Rain sweeps down onto soggy snow, rather than more snow arriving. Spring is so much more than blue skies and daffodils, though that is what many people think of when they think of spring! (It'll be at least a month until we get daffodils!)
It was obviously a good party as we found it was gone 1 o'clock when we emerged and we both thought time had just flown by. As the driver I had stayed very sober but still had a great time, another sign of a good party! Jan wrote a little more about the party.