It finally feels like spring! For a couple of days now it has been warmer and the sky is blue again. The last snow storm is only a memory now. There is still some snow on the ground and the mountain tops are still white, but here in the valley the birds are singing and the trees are budding. With the snow melting, patches of brownish grass appear and sometimes a smell of decay, and it’s muddy too, but soon the first green will show its tender tips. I am so ready for spring!
The first of March is the meteorological beginning of spring. Here in the mountains, though, spring is still far away with the next blizzard approaching. We still have a lot of snow; not so much in the valley but loads on the mountains. While I like the snow, I do not enjoy the cold very much 🙁 . I really long for warmer weather and especially for blue skies again. Winter here seems to be half a year of grey skies. So I look at old photographs and just dream about spring being already here.
May Easter bring health, peace, and happy new beginnings to you.
“Are there violets in the sod,
Crocuses beneath the clod?
When will Boreas give us peace?
Or has Winter signed a lease
For another month of frost,
Leaving Spring to pay the cost?
For it seems he still is king,
Though ‘t is Spring.”
—Christopher Pearse Cranch, A Spring Growl, 1878
It is officially spring in the northern hemisphere according to astronomy! The vernal equinox with the length of day and night being nearly equal has arrived. Winter still lingers around somewhat and the nights are still frosty up here. While the tulips are not out yet, higher daytime temperatures have turned snow into rain so that we have some rather muddy spots here and there, but there is a lot more sunshine too. And today is a gorgeous day! Welcome spring and I hope you’re here to stay!
“May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow.
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.”
—Irish traditional
Have a sham-rockin’ day! And don’t forget you don’t have to get too deep into that glass in order to drown the shamrock, just remember to throw it (the shamrock, not the glass…) over your left shoulder after the toast… Lá ‘le Pádraig!
