The Colors of Spring

   This morning, despite the time change, the drive into Newport for church was spectacular. The Bradford pear trees are wearing their bridal white, the Magnolias are slendid in pinky purples, and the weeping willows are wearing their pale pea  green fronds of spring.
  Along the burbling banks of the Pigeon River, there are many colors of green in the ground cover, short bushes, and the grass is already green. Many trees have leaves that are fully opened and many more are in the process of opening up. The river is very full, due to the recent spate of many rains, some quite heavy. My rain gauge had just under four inches for the last four or five days. And of course we are wondering when the rain will ease up. Just as we fretted over all the winter snow, now we want sun and warm days.
  Makes me go back to childhood, when we had winters with heavy snow always. We built forts, igloos and snowmen and enjoyed all that snow. There was enough snow that I remember my sister's dog walking right over the back fence, the snow was that deep.
   Funny, then our bodies adapted to the cold crisp days, and we enjoyed being outside and having fun sledding etc. But now the old bones want to sit beside the heat vent with a cup of hot coffee and just look out while staying inside and comfortable.
  Think maybe the weather has not really changed much it just cycles, and we have periods of more of everthing once every so often.
   We can be very thankful we are not living in Japan right now, our excesses are nothing compared to theirs. Hope we can all find time to give thanks for what we have, and do not have, and send some compassion to those suffering and dying there.  This time of year makes me think of one of my favorite Bible passages, Song of Solomon 2, verses11 and 12-"For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and done. 12. the flowers appear on the earth the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."
  Soon the soft and lovely days of spring will pass, and we will be complaining about the heat, may we all enjoy these few and precious days of spring.
 My mom had a great saying " As a rule, a mans a fool, when it's hot he wants it cool, when it's cool he wants it hot, what it is he wants it not."
  Happy spring, wherever you are, it will get there.