Yellowknife (Apr 04/03) - The time for gathering Easter eggs may be some weeks away but Mother Nature may soon bring you a treasure hunt of a different sort -- that is, if the latest warming trend continues.

Erik Watt says the only thing he uncovers when the snow melts in his yard is a lot of hard work -- thanks to his four-legged pal Qimmik. - Mike W. Bryant/NNSL photo

As we enter into the first days of spring and as the red begins climbing back up the thermometer, the long neglected front yard will likely soon reveal a myriad of surprises.

For Joan Hirons, owner of Island Bed and Breakfast, her big surprise came some years back after purchasing the house over the winter months.

Hirons figured she would need to visit a hardware store come spring to buy some gardening tools but as it turned out she didn't have to -- they were all over her backyard after the snow melted.

"The most interesting thing actually was the hose attached to the path just inside the front gate," says Hirons. "Had the hose been not there and attached to it I wouldn't have known I had a water outlet in my front yard. It's almost buried into the ground so it was hard to see."

Dana Britton remembers the tuxedo that got away, well almost.

A forgetful party guest must've left his bow tie behind one evening only to be excavated one spring day after the snow cleared.

"We had a martini party for 120 people," says Britton.

"He must've been out on the back deck smoking cigars and dropped it over the edge."

To this day, however, its owner remains a mystery.

"I didn't keep my eye out on the guests all the time but there were some interesting stories than came out of the party," says Britton.

Long-time resident Erik Watt says he cannot recall ever finding anything unusual in his backyard but has a pretty good idea what he'll find lots of this spring as he has all the previous years.

"Just all the doggie turds we've missed," says Watt of the items left behind by his four-legged friend, Qimmik.

"It's not too bad, we try to keep up with him but in the cold, cold weather you miss a lot sometimes.

"So it's an annual chore cleaning it up again."