Elemental Shifts Towards Spring

March lived up to its reputation this year as a month of chaotic transition. Vaulting past a few weeks of false spring that the North East savored in February, it returned us to the depth of winter with a blizzard mid-month. It was a season full of changes, drops of temperature back to the single digits, howling wind storms, blowing snowstorms and finally, on the very last day of the month, a rain storm to wash it all away to nurture the hope of dawning spring. Yet even throughout these elemental shifts, teeny blossoms were in evidence. They re-emerged fully as the snow began to melt away, snowdrops, croci, and bright blue glory-of-the-snow, petite, hardy and cherished.

And so here we are, in early spring, the month of April rolling out before us as nature re-emerges into full color after the muted gray and white vista of winter. It’s one of the best times of the year, with the light growing each day and new leaves and blossoms continuing to unfold. Yet there is so little foliage on display at the moment that we can walk around our neighborhoods and watch each plant or shrub or tree as, one by one, leaves and blossoms unfurl. And each change feels like a small win in a slowly growing trove. So much for the local scene, where winter cleanup is in evidence everywhere.