This Is Spring

The calendar said March 20 a few weeks ago. Spring actually only arrived today!

There’s a lot more to spring than just the Sun moving north of the equator. And, you can’t really have a spring day if you’re cooped up at work.

Spring is made for weekends.

If you take the long distance ocular view of the countryside, we’re still very winterlike. There are still no leaves visible on the trees. It’s only when you look closer and lower, you see something has begun to change. This afternoon, I went out with my camera to try and capture that.

Here in Connecticut, the most brilliant color is often the forsythia. It will soon be a leafy, green bush. Today it is ablaze with golden yellow flowers.

In fact, nearly any tree or bush that has blooming flowers, shows them now. In the case of the forsythia, those flowers won’t last long. The bush will be nice, but not like it is now.

One of our dwarf trees is fully in bloom. When I moved in for a close-up shot, I was surprised to find a butterfly (OK – maybe it was a moth. I’m not too good at this) going flower to flower, doing its part for fertility.

Even the bare trees show signs of promise. On the branches, little leaf buds are set to unfurl.

Every year, at some point, Helaine will point to a tree of some stature and say, “We brought that here in the backseat of the car.” They really have grown. As real estate ads often say, we’ve got mature plantings now.

As I type this, the window in my upstairs office is open full. I can hear a few birds chirping in the near distance.

This is the perfect time of year. How can spring not be your favorite?