I saw my first robin of spring a week ago. It was enjoying a long drink from the bird bath. I have heard it singing a few times since then and I saw it hunting insects in the afternoon, amid the emerging grass. The starlings are still taking food to their young, which will probably be fledging soon. The weather is warming into the upper 50° F. and a thunderstorm is expected this afternoon, lulling us into the false belief that spring has arrived. Winter seems to enjoy the April fool’s joke it plays on this part of the country every year. By tomorrow the rain will have turned to snow and we will have several inches of the wet, slushy white stuff before it is through.
Some flowers do not seem to mind April’s flirtatious game of hide and seek. They don’t bother looking for her since they know she will eventually come out of hiding. Crocus, daffodils, and tulips push upwards, their rich green leaves so brilliant against the dull brown of winter’s refuse. They are determined to bring forth their vibrant yellows, reds, and blues even through the snow.
The birds and flowers that struggle for survival, with unmatched tenacity and determination, are an inspiration, helping me to see the good in every situation – even this current one that has turned our human lives upside down. The falling apart of one season gives birth to the next. Our economy, our jobs, and our way of life seem to be dissolving before our very eyes; but beneath the surface of our visible world, something new and beautiful is being born.
