The first day of spring, and Easter is this Sunday. The only real way I can tell that spring will chase winter down the street is that the sun seems to get up earlier and go to bed later, and all the rotting snow banks have melted on our side of the street. The other side still has piles of snow, which makes me glad to live on the sunny side. Quite a few houses and businesses still have Christmas wreaths up, which strikes me as bizarre, though perhaps no stranger than Easter door decorations and snow banks together. Our neighbors still have gold tinsel garlands on the bushes in front of their house, and I'm tempted to sneak over their at night and make them disappear.
When I was little we always had new pastel lightweight Easter outfits, dresses, coats, hats and gloves. Easter is rarely warm enough for cloth coats, especially when it falls as early as it does this year. We used to just freeze on our way to church or to dinner. My grandmother worked at the Rexall drugstore, so we usually were treated to fancy Easter cards and sometimes those sugar panorama eggs with little scenes inside - lots of bunnies and flowers. It always seemed strange to me, since where I live there is nothing blooming. Nada. Not even forsythia or redbud. Where did people have flowers in early spring? I went searching around the south side of our house yesterday to see if my crocus and snow drops were up, and I found one of each (see photos). Not really a grand display, but some hope.
These days my reaction to spring is tinged with sad associations. Dad died on the first day of spring in 1983, and Mom died the last day of March four years ago, right before Easter. I wonder about that juxtaposition of loss, and spring renewal. What made them hold on until spring, then leave just as the possibility of a new green season was becoming real? Part of me wants to be philosophical about the death and rebirth of the seasons and our own hopes of resurrection, but it's hard.
Snow is forecast for tonight, but the daffodils have poked up though last years leaves about half an inch. I'm just going to need to think about them. Maybe I'll go get some Jelly Bellies, too.
When I was little we always had new pastel lightweight Easter outfits, dresses, coats, hats and gloves. Easter is rarely warm enough for cloth coats, especially when it falls as early as it does this year. We used to just freeze on our way to church or to dinner. My grandmother worked at the Rexall drugstore, so we usually were treated to fancy Easter cards and sometimes those sugar panorama eggs with little scenes inside - lots of bunnies and flowers. It always seemed strange to me, since where I live there is nothing blooming. Nada. Not even forsythia or redbud. Where did people have flowers in early spring? I went searching around the south side of our house yesterday to see if my crocus and snow drops were up, and I found one of each (see photos). Not really a grand display, but some hope.
These days my reaction to spring is tinged with sad associations. Dad died on the first day of spring in 1983, and Mom died the last day of March four years ago, right before Easter. I wonder about that juxtaposition of loss, and spring renewal. What made them hold on until spring, then leave just as the possibility of a new green season was becoming real? Part of me wants to be philosophical about the death and rebirth of the seasons and our own hopes of resurrection, but it's hard.
Snow is forecast for tonight, but the daffodils have poked up though last years leaves about half an inch. I'm just going to need to think about them. Maybe I'll go get some Jelly Bellies, too.
Late addition: On my drive to my art class today I saw my first robins of the season, three of them. I assume that the two flying madly at one another were males trying to out-macho one another for the benefit of the female who was sitting to one side watching.
1 comment:
I love the first photo. Such a deep and rich yellow.
I am eagerly looking for the first blooms here, also. We have snow forecast for Saturday so I'm sort of glad they haven't come up yet.
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