It's Here, Definitely

Here in mid-Missouri we're at that tipping point where the annual cycle of growth is about to accelerate wildly. Every morning now will bring some new bit of color to the tatters left by winter. It's an exciting time. You need to keep your eyes wide open for every little change. How can I be sure this is really that moment when there is no doubt that spring has arrived? Here are the signs -



All day long and then with even more gusto at night, the spring peepers have been serenading us from down at the pond. Their song is so sweetly romantic and hopeful. I love to sit on the back porch in the dark and listen to their singing, almost like a bedtime lullaby. Now each morning the painted turtles clamber up on fallen branches at the pond's edge to sun themselves. It must feel wonderful to finally leave the chilly mud and let the sun warm their shells. When I walk around the pond, they slip back into the water in a fluid, unconcerned manner, as if I am someone they know, don't especially dislike, but they simply don't want to talk to just now.



Out in the garden, while it's been far too muddy to plant, the weather is settled enough for me to pull the covers off the beds of greens we planted last autumn. Lo and behold, the spinach is growing and big enough to harvest a bit to perk up our dinner salads. There is something so extraordinary, so rich and buttery about this first spinach. Could it be that its fresh taste shouts "Wake up!" to our winter-dulled taste buds?



All around the yard and across the pond under the trees, clusters of daffodils are blooming. Is there anyone who doesn't like daffodils? I can't imagine it. They come in so many shapes. Some with long trumpets, some with short flattened trumpets, whites, pale yellows, brilliant yellow-golds. Some with double ruffly petals and an indistinct trumpet. Some with their petals tossed backward as if they'd been facing into the wind for days. One of my favorites has white petals with a rosy-peach trumpet. We only have a few of these, but daffodils very thoughtfully multiply over the years.




Wait a minute... Is this a sign of spring? It's sure no Easter rabbit that I've ever seen. No indeed, but after I finished knitting and felting this little hedgehog, he seemed anxious to get outside and check out the daffodils for himself. I couldn't resist posing him here and there around the backyard. I suppose it's a good thing the houses are spread out in our neighborhood; people might think I'd eaten one too many marshmallow peeps.



The pattern for the little hedgehog is from Fiber Trends, a Debbie Radtke design. The yarns are Cascade 220 Heathers and Lion Brand Fun Fur. I've made a number of these critters over the years and always enjoy making them. It's a quick and easy pattern. This particular little guy will be a gift for a friend who is expecting a baby in mid-May.

So now let's all bid farewell to March which is indeed going out as gently as a newborn lamb. Savor these days. Each one holds small and fleeting delights, things to feed your senses and soul. Happy Easter. Happy Spring!