Spring has Sprung . . .

Or so they tell me. At the moment, it is warmer than we've seen in recent weeks (50 degrees) so maybe what I'm seeing in both my front yard, and the back yard will melt. I am quite certain that this event would not hurt my feelings . . . at all.

This is the lovely view from my front porch today.

And this is the delightful view of my backyard this morning. Very inspirational.

As you can see, though today is traditionally celebrated as the first day of spring in our culture, here in the boonies, also known as Bear Lake Valley, we're still in the midst of wintry moments. (Heavy sigh!)

Don't get me wrong, I like winter. I enjoy all four seasons. It just seems like here in our realm we only have two: Winter . . . summer about July, and back to winter in October. Sometimes our climate skips over important items like say, spring or fall. This makes it quite a challenge to grow things like flowers, gardens, etc. An interesting twist: any and all weeds thrive under these conditions. Go figure.

Still, our summers are beautiful, even if they only last two months. During that time, the sun shines brightly, the birds break forth into song, and if we're really lucky, important things like huckleberries flourish in the mountain tops. It's seldom too hot, also a bonus. That's why people enjoy spending their vacations in a place like Bear Lake.

So here we are today, celebrating spring as best we can in our location. According to the handy reference, Wikipedia, "Spring heralds the transition from winter into spring." Ahh. I think our valley doesn't understand this concept. ;)

When one thinks of spring, one envisions green grass, flowers blooming, colorful birds flying past in an endearing fashion (aside from that flock last week that left a nice token on the bay window in the living room) and baby animals. In our mountain valley, we see most of these items about July. So you can understand our lack of enthusiasm for today's celebration. We really try to be sports about the whole thing, but I'm just sayin' . . .

Years ago I learned a little poem. I'm sure it was during my formative years when I could still memorize with relative ease. It went something like this:

Spring has sprung
The grass has ris'
I wonder where
The flowers is.

In trying to find the original author of this poem, I found yet another version today:

Spring has sprung
The grass has ris'
I wonder where
The birdie is?

There he is
Up in the sky
He dropped some "white-wash"
In my eye.

I'm not a sissy,
I won't cry,
I'm just very glad
That cows can't fly.

Now I have shared two poems and I still have no idea who the original author is of either one. So I will compose my own version:

Spring has sprung
Or so they say
Here it's another
Winter day.

Flowers aren't blooming
Snow lies on the ground
Whoever thought today was spring
Isn't really very sound.

Along about June, or perhaps July
We might see the sun up in the sky
The grass might be green, the flowers in bloom
Until then keep me in a padded room.

Cheri J. Crane
March 20, 2009

Happy spring out there. And if any of you would like to share what you're doing today to celebrate, feel free to comment. As for myself, I think I'll build yet another snowman. ;)

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