April

Just when it seemed winter would never end, I rediscover the joy of hearing birdsong in the morning. Never one to bound out of bed in a good mood, I nevertheless can manage to smile when I turn off the alarm and hear the birds singing and the doves cooing on the roof.

The wind sweeps the skies a beautiful pastel blue, the clouds roll in, drop a bit of rain, and then the wind scours the sky clean again. The daffodils nod their heads, the hyacinth stand proud, the forsythia shake out their blossoms. The weeping willow leaves unfurl in tiny crescents, white wildflowers dot the lawn, and an azalea in a neighbor’s private garden bursts forth with unexpected color.

The temperatures stretch and dip, sliding up and down the thermometer. The children drop their jackets on the playground even though there’s a chill in the air. We pretend it’s warm even when it’s not. The flowers play along with our charade. The rabbits hop into the scene after dinner, nibbling the fresh green grass, the final touch in the idyllic tableau..

Soon the lawnmowers will whine on Saturdays, and the plowed fields will be striped with new growth. One day we’ll glance up and see the trees veiled in green. It has taken months to get to this moment, but the mystery of April is that it all seems to have happened overnight—a sepia landscape transformed with Technicolor hues.

No wonder Christians celebrate Easter in the spring. It’s a season of miracles, inside and out.

© 2006 Veronica McCabe Deschambault. All rights reserved.

April 6, 2006

Comments

[TB]

Aaaahhhhhhh.... This post makes me want to stretch and unfurl like all the blooming things.

[Granola-grrrl]

I love spring. It smells so good here at night. I wish I could see spring where you are-- your words paint a lovely picture :)

[Amber]

Beautiful words! :)

[Shirley]

You have captured exactly what April is like--thank you! Each year it IS like a miracle when spring arrives in full force and like you said it seems like it happens overnight ... one minute it is still dreary and the next it is that wonderful freshest of greens everywhere you look. Living on a lake, the sound of the frog songs every evening is also special. On a rainy spring night, I have turned on my patio light before to find the storm doors covered with spring peepers. It was a sight that still makes me smile just to think about it.

[Melanhead]

Azaleas bloom a-muck here. They are gorgeous, even if they only last a few weeks. Hyacinth simply emits the scent of April, if you had to convert April into a smell.

[Angela]

My favorite part of April? Watching the fresh green on the trees and the shy lilac of redbuds intensify hand in hand, day by day.

[Annie]

We haven't lived anyplace with a true Spring in many years. My parents have a huge forsythia bush in their back yard, and when I was a kid, I remember my Mom always said it wasn't spring until it bloomed.

[Dan]

We hae a pussy willow. That is our first sign of Spring. Our daffodils are up, and I am impatiently waiting for the tulips to open before or on Easter.