NINE DAYS!

Can you make it 9 more days till Spring arrives? Of course you can!

Yesterday our temp here in Northeast Indiana was 67 degrees! Windy, naturally. Mostly sunny. And a foretaste of the season to come! When I got up this morning, it was 61 degrees and rain. Also a foretaste of the season to come.

My neighbor's big old maple is already budding. Mine are a bit reticent, waiting until all the other trees have done their big number before coming to the show. But narcissus are up, with tall leaves indicating stems with flowers will be along soon. The resurrection lily has leaves at least five inches above the ground. 

It all looks pretty good so far. Our recent snows (3 weeks ago I wrote about our 6-10 inches of white stuff) have melted. But now lawns are covered in debris--last year's leaves blown in from somebody else's yard, sticks that parted from their trees during the wintry storms and the weight of ice and snow. There'll be plenty of clean-up to do one of these balmy days.

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I hope no one thinks I'm doing my ostrich act--I do know we could have another humdinger of a snow storm--in March, in April. We've had snow in May, for heaven's sake. Nothing is certain just because the calendar declares Spring has arrived. But since Thursday's Child likes to celebrate, we're celebrating the Signs of Spring--the overture before the main event.

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Another sign of the new season is the arrival of--you guessed it--Daylight Savings Time. By the time we meet again we'll have lost that hour of sleep that happens every year in March. It always comes along just when I'm getting accustomed to early morning light--nice to wake up in the light, not in the dark. The other end of the day stays light longer, and that means I won't want to go to bed at a normal time. Or eat supper at the appropriate hour. When it's so light outside, I'm not hungry. Go figure.

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Here's the great thing about the arrival of Spring--it's a free gift. After a year (or more) of uncertain times--political dominance of the news, illness and death on a mega scale (also much in the news), protests, rioting, marching, speeches--after all that and more, Nature comes along on schedule and hands us a brand new season to enjoy. All we have to do is accept the gift. We had no influence in the gift's arrival time. We didn't order it (though I know a good many people prayed for it to come soon). We couldn't bribe Nature to do it now.

To paraphrase a Simon & Garfunkel song, "Spring, come she will."

 I hope your transition to the new season is carefree, full of joy. Take some time to look for Nature's signs that she's arriving in her new garb. Bask in the sun. Take a walk in the rain. Listen for birdsong.

Till next time, stay safe, stay well. 

Blessings to all...........