Spring de jure, Spring de facto

Spring is afoot; signs appear in expected places and unexpected ways, simultaneously.

The calendar puts this year's equinox at Wednesday, the 21st. The calendar gives us an official goodbye to winter. It also hearkens the return of baseball, with opening day in many cities as near as two-and-a-half weeks. The anticipation of grill smoke wafting through the air must wait only two months until those lazy May Sundays. The calendar, our favored timekeeper, offers us hope.

So too, without fanfare, does nature itself tease us with signs of spring, despite this weekend's blast of snow and cold that turned puddles into icy pedestrian danger zones. Two subsequent days' sunshine restores the glow of well-being, creating the illusion of warmth and an allusion to the recollected warmth of summer. Images of benignity manifest out of the snowscape created by Friday's blizzard, helping us anticipate the warmth to come. Shadows stretch across snowy lawns--penumbral chimneys and gnarled branches and angular, tilted walls. Songbirds chatter away their plans and preparations. Sunrise overcomes the wintry howl of wind; as the sun rises, groves cast mottled shadows across expanses of sparkling snow. A smile and a sigh of contentment at these sights and sounds help the soul slough off the gloom of winter's iron sky and iron grip.

Our vigil that holds warmth close and protects the light, our solicitous huddling together indoors, is nearly done. The turning of this great earth wheel subdues cold isolation. In our unique and varied ways, we can spend these next precious months celebrating our maypole dance.