The Arrival of Spring
Spring has sprung! Eh, sort of…
This year Spring decided to arrive in a slow moving, ever unfolding sort of way. Waiting for her arrival felt like waiting for a much anticipated house guest, who for whatever reason, stalled at the doorstep before fully stepping in. The molasses of anticipation and impatience had been almost too much to bear. Dramatic, I know.
That said, Spring made up for its delay by arriving with a bang - quite literally. This past week, the twelfth atmospheric river of the season rolled through with a glorious ruckus of thunder, lightning and hail; all mixed in an atmospheric soup of gray clouds, rain, sunshine and rainbows, sometimes all at the same time. A spectacular phenomenon to witness.
It was as if the sky could not make up its mind and said “To hell with it!” and ordered the entire buffet of atmospheric expressions to display. Perhaps this repertoire was especially reserved for (what I hope to be) the grand finale of a highly unusual wet winter.
Yet, despite the regional frost warning and chilly temperatures (59-37 degrees Fahrenheit), there is evidence of Spring everywhere. And despite its recurring seasonality, I genuinely react as if it is an unanticipated surprise.
The winter felt so long that I almost forgot what the three Birch trees in the central backyard look like in early bloom; with delicate buds decorating long strands of hair like stems, elegantly reaching towards the wet grass from their branches.
I didn't even expect the Irises to bloom. Especially since they were divided and then transplanted from my neighbors yard into my own; and then transplanted again, by me, from one end of the garden to another, right before the onslaught of rain.
I thought for sure, maybe next year I would see them bloom. I assumed they would need more time to take root, and I assumed they would have had to survive the rain. But here they are! In full glory bursting through. I felt a sigh of relief and satisfaction with the sight of one single purple bloom emerging on top of a shooting stem. Now, to my disbelief, I’ve caught sight of three.
I have to pause here and laugh. I think it’s funny (and even embarrassing) that I so naively doubted Spring in such a way. As if I was not quite sure of its arrival or even of the adaptability of the plants I have been planting along the way.
That said, I am willing to admit that perhaps it says more about the doubt I feel around my first foray into gardening, than anything else. While I am okay with making mistakes, I am most certainly okay with being delightfully surprised by unexpected successes.
The one thing I did not doubt however, was the pure JOY the arrival of Spring would bring. A sense of exuberance, I suspect, that only a long wet winter can ensure.
So here we are; chilly weather, some gusty gales, and pure sunshine - finally.
Next on the project list: the neglected front yard flower bed.
Until next time!
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