Sing for Spring...

Well, it's the second Friday in April and I wonder, where has the time gone?  Around me I see every shade of green, and that means growth.  It seems as though I went to bed last night and woke this morning to ever more colorful changes outside my chilly house. Magnolia blossoms swing by my bedroom window.  New grass is sprouting in the backyard, trees are filling in and thanks to a mild winter, that columbine that I bought last summer and forgot to plant has actually survived!  I guess daily miracles really do happen.


Inspired, I chose this piece for today's posting because it spoke to the awe and wonder that I never cease to encounter at this time of year.  Letters in a modernized italic uncial letter style (learned from my calligraphy teacher, Gerry Jackson Kerdock) dance on the page.  The "S" is done with paint markers as a decorated versal and reminds me of stained glass, much like the way that morning light filters that through a pattern of branches with an ethereal glow.  It illuminates the orchestra of tulips and hostas, daffodils, forsythia as well as shoots of mint and chives that add zest to my menu.  In my front yard a young choir of crocus blossoms seem to shyly step up and sing together. The result is a fleeting masterpiece of sight, scent and sound that we as mere human beings are privileged to have a part in.


Yes, the regrowth and rebirth of spring leaves me awestruck.  I know it seems a little crazy, but sometimes I swear that I actually hear the grass growing, or the branches stretching and yawning after a winter's nap, unfurling their newborn leaves and buds for all to admire.  Everything is new again.  Ants and worms are busy digging in and out of the thawing earth foraging for fresh sustenance.  Squirrels, and chipmunks having wakened, perform a frenetic ballet.  They leap from tree to tree as if synchronized with robins, chickadees and the woodpeckers who use the bark as a drum to usher in the audience for the day's performance.  


Now is the time when the season's opening event comes together.  I grab the dog, a big bottle of seltzer (for the celebratory bubble effect) and take my spot on the porch steps in the front row.  Quieting my mind, I sit back and take it all in.  Bushes and trees sway as the animals and insects dance.  Winged friends flutter and sing in harmony with my heartbeat and I can't help but catch my breath in the knowledge that my presence is just a tiny piece of this incredible annual symphony.  On with the show...


Happy Spring!


Thanks for looking,


Claire