Signs of spring
Unlike the photo above, taken in March, my daffodils have not yet bloomed. The flower buds sit atop foot-long stems, already promising the spring to come.
(Note added February 13, 2010: Regardless of the forecasts by the eastern groundhog in Pennsylvania, it looks like an early spring for this part of California. My daffodils started to look like the March photo above, THIS WEEK!)
The last two days were sunny, with highs in the low 60s somewhere in the Bay Area. There is a chance of rain everyday from Monday through Saturday, with highs in the 50s. About this time of year, I usually let the rest of the U.S. know that spring is on the way. Spring is my favorite time of year.
The seasons become blurred in California. In the fall, deciduous trees lose their leaves and new flowers bloom! In the winter, the rains turn the hills green with new growth! In the spring, growth is most vigorous, fueled by winter rains and released by biological clocks. In the summer, the brutal heat and lack of moisture turn the hills into gentle curves covered with brown grasses, punctuated with the green of scrub oaks.
Living things are busy being born and busy dying all of the time. Where I live, there is no quiet time when snow covers the ground and life takes a rest. If there is a time when life slows down at all, it is in the first week or two of the new year. Even the hummingbirds at our feeder are there all year! If they leave at all, it is for a week’s vacation in January.
Tonight, I am holding onto positive thoughts and looking forward to my favorite time of year, which should not be long in coming.
-Bill at
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