I couldn't wait for Spring
Disclaimer: This post was written a few weeks ago, and is only being posted now.
I am writing this as I sit out in 85-degree sunny south Florida. I tell you this not to make you feel bad as the snow continues to fall, but to assure you that spring is on the way. In south Florida right now, homeowners are beginning to plant their vegetable gardens and summer flower pots. I know that many of you (my wife is at the top of the list) have had enough of the snow and cold, but remember that without the winter there would be no spring to celebrate.
The changing of the season is in full swing here, and I would like to share some of the things I am seeing in nature that you will soon be seeing at home in Minnesota. New growth on the live oak trees as they come out of their winter dormancy. Many new blooms and buds on the hibiscus plants as the sun gets higher in the sky. The birds and animals pairing up for the mating season. Pollen in the air from the citrus trees blooming (this you don’t see as much as you smell….and sneeze), and the wonderful, sweet fragrance.
Now, obviously we don’t have the same varieties of plants and animals that are native here in Florida, but nature has many similarities that run through her. Spring is a season of rebirth and everything is anew; what a great time of the year. I have seen that the temperatures are warming in Minnesota, and it won’t be long before someone posts the first crocus pushing out of the ground close to the house on a sunny south side.
Until that time, we can delight ourselves with the knowledge that the worst of winter is behind us, and every day brings us that much closer to the smell of grass being mowed and the first thunderstorm.
Remember, the March snow doesn’t last, and it provides moisture to replenish the ground water and fill the lakes and ponds. I began this blog in southwest Florida but am finishing it in snowy Elk River Minnesota, and I am ready for the spring to begin. In only so many days we will begin setting up greenhouses, and then spring will have arrived in my mind. Keep thinking spring-like thoughts, and before you know it you will be seeing the first dandelion in your front yard.
