By Ron Baker
Living into Spring is the hope of all ages – from young to old – I think.
Some people just like winter and could live there their whole lives. I’m not one of them. I’m a four season guy. Just as one season winds down, I’m ready to move to the next season.
So when a season stretches longer than usual, disappointment arises in me. I have in my mind an appointed time at which I’m ready to move on.
This approaching spring has been both tantalizing and tempting. I’m tempted to think that Spring is here. I put away my snow shovels a month ago. I took them out almost immediately – clearing away a winter storm’s fallout. Then I left them out and the sun shone and the ground almost baked.
But you can’t trick me twice. The shovels are still on the front deck.
What do I like about spring? The white of winter is replaced with resplendent colours from all parts of the colour palate. Delicate plants arise alongside withered grass. Neighbours venture out to see each other – and to talk and celebrate.
On the farm the preparation for seeding is soon replaced by the actual act of seeding. As the ground accepts the seedling the warmth of the Spring encourages growth. As a dormant earth foretells a need for rebirth, soon the dirt warms and the nourishment stored over winter is ready for new growth.
What else keeps Spring on my “nice” list, lifting it from Winter’s “naughty” list?
I don’t watch paint dry, literally. But I do see the benefit as paint dries. Ever watch snow melt? I watch snow intermittently – and then it disappears. Feeding the ground beneath the white wonder, the snow comes first to cover the earth and then to release the earth. A farm dugout may be piled high with snow. Shortly into spring the winter supply of snow has melted into a Spring supply of liquid gold. Snow is good!
And when snow is gone – that is good too!
Spring is here, I hope.