Spring Has Sprung

Or so the calendar says. Since today is supposed to be the first day of spring, I walked around to gather evidence. Sure enough, the signs are definitely here.

Grapefruit are now gracing my breakfast menu.

The eternal shadow of overcast skies have given way to the bright contrasts of the sun’s rays.

Temperatures are soaring between frosty nights and light jacket days.

Ankles can now be lost in the unshorn grass that is flushed green from rain.

Branches trimmed by hard winter winds are stacked and ready for mulching.

Our slumbering neighbors are alert and coming over to visit again and…

…friends who winter in the warmer South are back and singing in the trees.

The pond is bubbling freely and the goldfish are no longer sluggish.

Trees are budding…

…bulbs are blooming

…and the Oregon Grape bushes are awakening.

The world seems new again as we shake off the cold and grim winter greys and don spring shades of green. As surely as the Earth follows its track around the sun, life in eastern Oregon orbits the seasons. Students are reveling in Spring Break, farmers are preparing for spring tilling and planting, homeowners are reconditioning their lawnmowers. It is predictable and comforting; assuring us that the pain and loneliness of even the most brutal winter will not last forever. Life does renew itself and hearts do lighten. What seemed impossible in the dismal light of our season of waiting will reveal new avenues of hope in the dawn of spring. Be happy, be hopeful, and find joy. Spring has indeed sprung.