Spring, Spring, Spring

   After the long winter portrayed in the movie 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers', the characters sing a song called 'Spring, Spring, Spring' My favorite line in the song is "Ma Nature's lyrical with her yearly miracle" That certainly describes spring in Minnesota.
   Less than a month ago we had a blizzard that put almost two feet of snow on the ground. This in addition to what was already there. This winter seemed very long. You sometimes wonder if spring is ever going to come.
  Then the sun comes out. Slowly, very slowly the temperatures warm up and the snow starts to melt. There's water and mud everywhere.
  Then it happens. Grass starts to turn green. Plants start to pop up. Leaves begin to appear on the trees. At our house, the tulips poke out of the ground. I never know where they are going to come up. They were planted there long before we moved in. Shortly after they appear there are buds and tulip flowers. Most of the tulips are red and yellow but sometimes a dainty white one with pink edges shows up. That one is my favorite.
   We have a small double mock orange in the front yard. Every year when the snows cover it up, I wonder if it will survive. It's so small and seems so frail. Every year the leaves come out. In a month or so it will be covered with so many flowers that it looks like a mound of flowers on the ground. The scent of these beautiful small white flowers cannot be described.
   I believe that that is the present that is given to us hardy souls of the north. We wait out the cold snowy winters persevering the best we can. In May and sometimes in April, we are rewarded with green leaves, flowers, and some lovely scents.
   It does seem like a miracle. I feel sorry for people who live in warmer climates. They are surrounded by greenery and lushness most of the year. They don't have snowy landscapes dotted with bare trees. They don't get to see the changes when the snow melts and the trees go from bare to covered in brilliant green leaves.  I wonder if they can appreciate being able to go outside without looking like a walking bundle of cloth?
  We in the north do.
   It's time to put away the thick sweaters, corduroy pants, and woolens. Time to pull out capri pants, flowered skirts, bright t-shirts and colorful dresses. It's fun to be able to wear all my fun summer hats including Big Blue.
  It's rainy and gray today, but that's all right. I'm pulling out my summer pajamas and summer work clothes. I'll be packing the winter clothes neatly away until they are needed again in the fall. I've got my running shoes and gear all ready once it is light enough out at 5:30 am.
   I'm going to appreciate this yearly miracle.