ON THE BISTRO BENCH

I'm sitting on our bistro bench out by the pond tonight watching and listening.  There's still some ice on the pond, but it's fading fast.  It's mostly overcast this evening but I can see the sun setting as it peaks through the clouds.  It's not late enough to be "pretty in pink" yet, but the sky is still beautiful.

I can hear the red winged blackbirds singing their pretty trilling songs, perched in the trees on the far edges of the pond.  They made their welcome return last week as did the geese, sandhill cranes, and robins.  We've had one snow on the robin's back so there should only be two more snows left.  Ha ha!

I love the old stems and seeds from the hardhack flowers left over from last year that stand on the pond's edges in front of me.  It will be a few months before they come alive again with green leaves and lavender flowers but I don't mind waiting, because I love spring.  I've decided that spring and fall are my favorite seasons because I don't like it too hot and I don't like it too cold anymore, either.

If you think spring is brown, dead, and yucky, think again.  With the trees yet so bare you can see far and wide and if you look hard enough you can notice things left over from last year... like baltimore oriole's nests, pine cones, leaves on the white oak trees, and acorns the deer and squirrels still haven't found.

A few acorns are beginning to split and think about sprouting.  Pussy willows are starting to appear in wet places.  Buds on the alders and trees from last year are filled with hope for a new beginning.

I can hear the mourning doves cooing now as the sun is almost gone and a spring storm is on the way.  I'm going to sit here on the bistro bench and wait until it's almost dark, take it all in, and appreciate the world around me, and think of those who don't have the chance to.