Hello Spring, My Old Friend

Growing up in Wilton, Connecticut Spring was my favorite time of year. We lived in a giant house crated out of two barns that were put together to be the Party House, carriage house and servant quarters for another more traditional home next door.

Starting with barns meant that half of the house was made out of barn siding. There was no insulation and I have a strong recollection of holes in the wood where you could see the out doors. The higgledy Piggly nature of the building meant that normal heating just could not keep up and therefore winters in that house were excruciating.

We had no air conditioning, it was Connecticut after all. But there were summer nights when we lay on top of our sheets, naked, with box fans running, praying for a big storm. So summers had some pitfalls.

Falls were beautiful, but since that meant back to school, that gave fall a mark in the negative column.

That left Spring. My birthday is in the spring, but the real reason I liked spring best was the daffodils that were planted all over the banks of the stream that ran through our property and down to our skating pond. The banks were steep on the far side, up a little mountain and the daffodils peaking up from the fallen leaves and rocks were glorious.

In Connecticut, spring came right around the time of the vernal equinox. In North Carolina spring really came in early February. Currently our daffodils are long gone and the forsythia’s yellow flowers have been covered by the green leaves.

Still the first day of spring makes me happy. Perhaps because I feel like the school year is on the down side and my birthday is around the corner. (In fact it is more than a month away.)

Spring in Durham means pollen, something I never really thought about as a child, but then again I never thought a car needed to be washed since my father had both cars washed every Saturday.

Nonetheless, today I am happy. Welcome Spring and the fluffle of bunnies who are likely coming for my garden. Even today I won’t be mad about them. The sunshine is growing. The flowers are blooming. Life is good.