Spring stirs something in me like a grizzly bear waking from its apathetic torpor. As patches of snow slowly acquiesce to the greenery beneath, the gray haze finally lifts to reveal that striking baby-blue sky that I was starting to think was exaggerated by my memory. Colors ricochet through the landscape to the pulse of mother nature. And as the world brightens, my cells dance with glee like a plant that’s been starved of the sun’s delicious warmth.
When I asked Carly, the assistant innkeeper, how spring makes her feel she exclaimed, “Spring playfully yanks that blanket of depression of your soul!” Spring pulls you up by your bootstraps after a long season of rest. Spring makes you start looking for the beauty in everything: birds return from their winter hiatus to sing their favorite songs, flowers start to peek their heads out of the ground, and the whole wide world just seems a little brighter. Just the other day I found some yellow crocuses peaking through a patch of snow.
Spring rainstorms call forth new life, which is a welcome reprieve from the previously dreary landscape. The baby leaves wave in the spring air like the hands of old friends. One of my personal spring favorites is Trillium, which grows prolifically in local forests. My mom and I used to admire every single one we came across during walks in memory of my grandma.
And just as the plants vastly increase their numbers, the amount of layers I have to bundle myself up in decreases. As the sun warms the land, I shed my layers like a snake, leaving a trail of forgotten extra clothing across the property.
In a more practical sense, the increasing length of the days has made it a whole heck of a lot easier to accomplish things. There’s a pep in my step as I take fresh water out to the chickens in the morning, even though the great melting has caused the stench of poultry to thicken. It’s nothing that a little fresh hay and bedding can’t fix! And any annoyance is quickly forgotten when I see eggs sprinkled throughout the aviary. Our eternal battle to get the birds laying in the colder months has reached a cease fire for the time being. Our armory, which includes heavy-duty cords for bucket heaters and heated light bulbs can finally get tucked away as nature takes on the heavy lifting.
