Spring Has Arrived!

                Spring is on my mind!  I cannot seem to think about anything else and decided I might as well write about spring and why I love it so much.

                #1 I love escaping from the confines of the house.  Winter in Alaska is cold and dark.  Each fall I have the desire to fill my tummy and hibernate for the winter.  I try to stay busy, but I do not go outside any more often than needed.  I do not like the dark, and I hate being cold.  Spring causes me to shed my heavy coats and boots and enjoy being outside.

                #2 I love light and warmth.  I feel myself coming to life again in early March as I can feel the sun returning to the northern skies.  I find it interesting to recognize that light has an actual physical effect on my body.  I remember my childhood on the farm and the freedom I felt as I ran through the fields still wet from the freshly melted snow.  The March winds were still brisk and chilly, but they could not stop me from coming to life again.

                #3 I love seeing the various signs that spring has arrived.  I enjoy watching the birch trees outside my kitchen window as the buds start to swell and the leaves emerge.  An old sourdough expression is that Alaskans can plant when the leaves of the birch trees are the size of a squirrel’s ear.

                #4 I love to see growth.  I planted daffodils by the foundation of my home where the returning sun warms the soil.  This is the first place that I see growth each spring.  Sometimes the leaves get nipped by cold temperatures, but the flowers are always beautiful.  These bright yellow flowers are my sign that spring has arrived!  I love to see the grass turning green and other plants start to grow.

                #5 I love working in the soil.  I remember the first spring I lived in Alaska and the snow in the backyard was still several feet deep.  One day I noticed a spot of bare soil located in the corner where the deck met the wall of the house.  I could not resist the urge to feel the soil.  I knew at that time that I have “farmer’s blood” running through my veins, and I understood how Scarlett felt in the novel Gone with the Wind when she returned to her family’s plantation and felt the soil of Tara in her hand.

                I will most likely write more about this topic at a later time.  For now, this is enough to satisfy me because I am driven by the urge to get outside and work in my yard.  Happy Spring to you!