The saying Spring has sprung is misleading. The word sprung implies something that happened immediately, unexpectedly, as in She sprung out from behind the tree to surprise me. I guess one could say that spring has indeed sprung…if you’ve been living life with blinders on for the past month or so.

The first signs of spring are subtle. Bulbs begin to break through the earth starting in February; their pointy, green heads reaching bravely for the sky. First to bloom are the daffodils. Is there another flower that says Spring is here! any better? Gradually…that’s the best word to describe the arrival of a new season. Gradually other spring flowers join the daffodils: hyacinth, iris, freesia, tulips. The lilac bush that Carol planted in 2010 in memory of her mother is alive right now with intoxicatingly fragrant purple flowers. I go out and smell them every day.

If you’re not paying attention, if your phone has taken up all of your mental energy, then you’re missing the bud break on the trees. 

The buds are there all throughout winter just waiting, then one day I notice some of them have begun to  fatten, first with blossoms then with tiny green leaves. What was recently bare branches is slowly coming to life. The birds will soon have more places to hide and to nest.

If you’re not paying attention, this annual miracle of rebirth will have passed you by, or would appear to have “sprung up” overnight.

The change in the quality of light and the wind are even more subtle, the angle of the sun has shifted, and the air has begun to warm. The copious rains of this past winter have helped to usher in a glorious greening of the earth. The camellia tree that sits outside our front door has experienced an explosion of blossoms, the likes of which I haven’t seen in over 20 years, it’s deep red, softball-sized flowers are so numerous that the branches are bent nearly to breaking.  The redwood sapling I planted over eight years ago is 20 feet tall, the tips of its branches are alive with foam-green shoots of new growth.

Another harbinger of spring are the birds. Winter residents prepare to depart while spring arrivals are on their way. The hooded oriole is a bright orange and black gem of a bird, it spends fall and winter in Central America and Mexico but during spring and summer lives right here in our neighborhood. I’ve been tracking its springtime appearance for the past 20 years. For me, spring hasn’t truly arrived until the hooded oriole has. I’ve noticed a few of our backyard birds flying around with bits of grass in their beaks, nest building is most certainly in progress. 

This incredible miracle of rebirth is happening right now, right before our eyes. This isn’t an  iPhone, or AI. This isn’t the one-tap-away from instant gratification that our world has become. This is nature. Nature takes its time, nature happens on its own mysterious timetable and guess what? You’ve got to be patient, you’ve got to open your eyes and your ears and your heart in order to see what is going on all around us. My friend Laura once said this about me, “Louie, you really take part in life!” Well if you want to fully experience what’s going on right outside your door this spring…take part in it!

When I sit in our backyard at this time of year and fully immerse myself in this fleeting moment that is spring, I’m nearly moved to tears; the beauty and little miracles that surround me are overwhelming. This phenomena happens only once a year so if you’re not tuned in you miss out, it’s as simple as that. 

As awful as the monster Trump and his sycophants are I have to remind myself that this too will pass, that it’s all just temporary. However, the cycle of the seasons is eternal, it was going on before we were here and will continue long after we’re gone. So put down your phone, take a break from the news, they’ll both be there when you return. Get outside, open your eyes, breathe and take part in the arrival of spring!