Spring!

After five months of below freezing temperatures, snow covered vehicles, turtle-neck sweaters, and hauling firewood in, it is time for spring. Spring time is loaded with anticipation - not just for humans, but for all northern Michigan creatures. It feels a necessity to wear a t-shirt the first day that rises above forty degrees. Forty degrees during the other seven months of the year would require an extra layer but the excitement of spring feels fresh on bare skin. Very fresh.

The birds would agree as they twit around chirping and calling a mate. It's as though they get a little high from the warmer air and buds breaking. Sometimes they get so crazy I fear their heads may pop off in excitement. They tend to settle down a little more as they lay eggs and prepare for a life that revolves around the nest. Their focus becomes feeding and protecting their ugly little babies.

It sometimes seems as though plants can't wait for spring to hit either. Crocuses and daffodils are busting out of the soil trying to catch a glimpse of the warm sunshine. Forsythia threatens to show it's delicate yellow flowers a bit too early. The lilac buds are bursting at their seams. Pussy willows still have a little feel of winter however. They remind me of a grandmother donning her finest mink coat. I guess magnolias seem even more that way to me. They are such a grand flower with a breath-stopping scent. That might be a little more like a granny in a fur coat - perfume almost too heavy, but wonderful. And beautiful.

Trees tend to get a little excited in the first few warm days of spring. In all their liveliness starts to flow spring's finest beverage - maple sap. God's gift to the season's early birds. With nights still below freezing and days nearing comfortable t-shirt weather, sap starts flowing and can't be stopped. So, what does one do? Grab a cup, pull up a lawn chair, and enjoy. I'm pretty sure that was His purpose in making maple sap - to satisfy the taste buds.