Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Happy Spring

Today is the first day of spring and it was beautiful here in Empire, Alabama. It's hard not to love spring – well except for pine pollen and those ensuing hellish sinus infections, but spring is a lovely time of year in more ways that one.
I noticed Sunday that the wild honeysuckles on our land have started to bloom. Some time back loggers cut timber on the property behind the barn and I feared that all the wild honeysuckle back there would be destroyed but they are back and as beautiful as ever.
The wild honeysuckle is often called a wild azalea but it's real name is Ericaceae and is a member of the (blueberry family). Whatever it is called, I am thankful it lives in abundance on and around our property.
My neighbor has several large Bradford Pear trees in his yard and this morning as I drove by they looked like large fluffy clouds. I would say that I love this time of year, but by now if you've read many of my entries you know that I love most of the seasons.
I was on the mountain this morning before sunrise and the sky to the East was crystal clear. The horizon was turning from amber to a vivid rose/orange/red in anticipation of the arriving sun. Up high you could see jets heading in all directions and their vapor trails made it look like a sky full of Comets. All along the roadside I passed redbuds, which are actually purple, but they are one of the first flowering bushes to arrive on the scene and they grow wild here. They are a beautiful sight to behold.
I got spring fever today as I walked outside. I remember spring when I attended Dora High School when the days got warm and the oak and hickory trees began to leaf out. Most of the kids in class sat with our heads propped on our hands staring longingly out the large windows. Those days seemed very long and the voice of the teachers sounded as if they were speaking in tongues. Note to teachers, if you haven't taught a ninth grader every thing he needs to know by spring, you've missed the boat because nothing else will fit in their heads except dreams about fishing or perhaps walking around barefoot in the grass.
Come to think of it, I didn't get a lot done after lunch today either. I kept wondering if the fish were biting. Happy spring to all.

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