At last...spring?

This morning was anything but spring-like.  Cold frost clung to the grass and we scraped ice from the car windows before we bundled ourselves off to church. My trusty winter coat felt good when I faced the frigid breeze as I walked across the parking lot and in the door.

This afternoon when lunch was over we went on our usual Sunday stroll around the pasture and woods to check out what was happening.  It is amazing what a few hours of sun and light breeze from the south can do.  For the past couple of days the wind has had a distinctly winter bite to it, cold and icy with a touch of malice.  It was as if Mother Nature were sneering at us and saying, "I'll show you what I think of your hopes for spring and green grass and flowers !"

But this afternoon her smile was gentle and the wind that blew was soft and full of promises.  Could it be?  Did we dare hope?  The nearly an inch of rain had softened the ground and we could see the very beginnings of flower buds pushing up through the dry and crinkled leaves.  If you looked closely you could almost see the ground moving around the life pushing up from below,  like one of those time lapse photos of flowers with petals unfolding in a matter of seconds.

And the birds.  The meadow larks were the only birds singing a few days ago.  But suddenly they were joined by other voices.  Nesting songs.  Songs of greeting. 'Hello, how have you been?  It's been quite a winter hasn't it?'

The baby minnows were frisking around in the little pond.  Penny bugs hop-scotched across the rippling surface. Nearby a gray squirrel ran for cover with a nut in his mouth. 

We have lived out here on the hilltop since September.  We have seen fall turn into winter.  We have lived through our first winter.  And now winter is turning into spring.

Somehow, my cautious heart warns me  not to be too quick to welcome the new season.  'Anything can happen in April', they say.

And I say, bring it on.  Because, I do believe, that spring is here to stay.