7

“Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing.” . . . “Something up above was calling him imperiously,  . . . “Up we go!’ till at last his snout came out into the sunlight, and found himself rolling in the warm grass of the meadow. . . .The sunshine struck hot on his fur, soft breezes caressed his heated brow, and after the seclusion of the cellarage he had lived in so long the carol of happy birds fell on his dulled hearing almost like a shout. Jumping off all his four legs at once, in the joy of living and the delight of spring, he pursued his way across the meadow . . .”   Excerpts from  The Wind in the Willows,  by Kenneth Grahame.

Just like the mole in this beloved children’s story, spring is calling us, drawing us to the warm sunshine after the seclusion of our cellarage of the long cold winter.  I wrote an article years ago for helium on the rebirth of spring and was honoured that Phatitude Magazine wanted to publish it.  Perhaps because of the long winters we have experienced, I want to share this with you.

***

I couldn’t sleep, I felt restless and my mind was already on the tasks of the day. Not wanting to disturb the household I tiptoed into the kitchen to fix myself a cup of coffee. I enjoy the quiet and solitude before the day begins; I selfishly hoard that silent moment for myself. With a steaming mug of coffee in hand, I sit on the stairs of the deck surrounded by compressed shadows. My senses are suddenly alerted to the beauty of spring.

Spring arrives like a debutante, bedecked to beguile the senses. The moisture in the air is a mist, a vapor that settles like a bride’s veil floating gently over the land. Translucent beads of moisture heavy with the scent of the earth, lingers, dispersing its rich, sweet fragrance. I watch the sun slowly emerge; hovering over the vapor, warming it, lifting the veil and kissing the land beneath.

The beauty resonates through my soul. The earth becomes a bride each spring. She stretches her arms to the sun, just as the trees reach for the sun after the long winter sleep. The air is alive with a symphony of birds; warm breezes carry sweet perfumes from the fields and early blooms. Bees dart from flower to flower and butterflies sail gently above like a living mobile strung from heaven.

The long cessation is over and life awakens. Children play in puddles left by the melting snow and scramble together on the newly exposed patch of green grass. Shiny cans hang from the sugar maples collecting nature’s sweet nectar. Warm breezes sigh over newly plowed fields, and soft spring rain moistens the land making the seeds to swell and explode.

Everywhere life is revealing itself with a flurry of activity. Spring cleaning puts a fresh sparkle into the house after being closed off all winter. It is time to open the windows and let spring breezes rush through the house to invigorate the life within. Summer clothes are unpacked and winter things stored with moth-balls in the attic. The barbecue is uncovered and snow pushers and toboggans are locked away.

Springtime is a new beginning. It’s a love story that extracts the desire in us. Spring creates inspiration, stimulates imagination and evokes dreams. Spring is love and romance, weddings, and births and optimism for happily ever after. Spring is when love is new and innocent, when hearts sing that timeless melody only lovers hear.