Harbingers of Spring

The pussywillows have run their cycle and are at the ugly-fuzzy-yellow-pollen-almost-a-leaf stage.   The forsythia is in full yellow riot.  My quince bush is in the tight bud phase, ready to burst forth with myriad pink flowers.  And the lilacs are beginning to leaf out.

The crabgrass in the gravel driveway has begun to grow like the weed it is. The moss on trees and fenceposts has turned a violent green.  Trees are sending up suckers like shooting stars.  And the birds are getting noisier and noisier as the boys practice their rusty mating calls.  And the other day I saw a robin fly by with nest-building material in its mouth.

I am so ready for spring!  These signs of greenery and new life are glad tidings to my winter-weary heart!

Can Spring Be Far Away?

There's pussywillows out there in the woods.  I just know it.  Spring is just around the corner.  And the pussywillows are out.

How do I know it?  Because of all the mewling in the trees.  It's not cats stuck up there.  It's pussywillows.  And that means spring isn't far off, despite what Punxsutawney Phil says.  Six more weeks of winter?  Bah!  Gimme some sunshine!

And pussywillows, which I adore. 

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It's raining and sleeting, and the temperature is reeeeeally cold! Yesterday we had a brief spate of brilliant sun, despite the cold. You could hear doors open all through the neighborhood as pasty-complexioned people ran outside to stand in the sun. My horse, who spends most of his time snuggled down in his clean, dry stall, actually poked his head out, then went down to the pasture to see if the grass was growing yet.

I am so ready for spring!