I Was Thinking... Sounds, Sights, & Scents

Tonight was one of the first evenings I sat on our deck this spring. It was 7:30, warm, and this time there wasn’t any wind. The sun still shined on the top half of our backyard tree as it began its nightly descent.
As I relaxed, a cardinal sang from the top of a tree and a purple finch landed on the edge of the roof for just a moment before fluttering away. But most of the sounds of nature were drowned out by the drone of lawn mowers as people were trying to keep up with the rapidly growing grass. Once the final mower was retired for the evening, the cardinal flew to a low hanging branch where his brilliant red plumage showed up against the green of the pine tree. He continued his vocal performance until he headed off to entertain someone else.
Earlier in the day I had taken a break from potting flowers and weeding the flower garden to get a cup of coffee. As I sat rocking on the deck, I noticed a much-anticipated scent drift over on a slight breeze. It was the first whiff of the recently opened lilac flowers. There is nothing so representative of spring as the smell of lilacs. This along with the aroma of newly cut grass, is such a welcome contrast to the lack of any smells we experience during the long months of winter.
While the view from our deck in town is quite limited, I’m amazed at the many pleasing sights of nature that are still available. The first is the emerald, green carpet of grass that has grown vigorously with our abundance of spring rains and a little fertilizer. Around the yard, hostas of various hues have already begun to flourish. Even if the tulips are now past their prime, they still offered a bright red and yellow contrast to the dark green grass. The grape hyacinths provided a splash of purple color in an otherwise drab flower garden. While some may not appreciate another contrast in their lawns, dandelions also create spots of spring color across the landscape. Personally, I’ve always been quite fond of the combination of green and gold.
With the many trees in the neighborhood that have leafed out, each one seems to offer a different tint of green as they come back to life.
The several crimson maples in the area show off their unique hue of red. But just behind our house, it isn’t the leaves at all that draw your attention, it is the pink and white blossoms of two apple trees in my neighbor’s lawn that add to the beauty of a spring night.
There is something about spring that is so refreshing. New sights, sounds, and scents all signify a rebirth. This week we saw the reappearance of gold finches at our feeder. They were adorned in their bright yellow summer feathers as they competed for the seeds. The first baby bunny scampered across the lawn this week which reminds me I need to put the fence up around my garden before I even think of planting anything.
Our squirrel population will soon be increasing as I picked up tender branches of our tree laying on the ground after being chewed off by squirrels getting their nests ready for babies. Finally, on the way home from going out to eat, I saw the first green shoots of corn emerging from the ground in one farmer’s field.
While many in different parts of the nation wonder why anyone would want to live in a state that experiences months and months of cold and snow, they don’t understand that after winter, we appreciate and savor spring and summer so much more than other places. Spring in Minnesota is rejuvenating.
Did You Ever Wonder? – If the early bird gets the worm, why do good things come to those who wait?