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Amid frigid cold, snow, gray days and long nights, the season is hidden in plain signs. Winter is not generally a season that inspires a season of hope.
The other seasons are observably different from one day to the next – new flowers blooming in springtime, baby birds fledging in summer, leaves turning new shades of color all fall – but in winter the world is fast asleep. Silent. Still. Except it’s not.
Winter has its own personality just as the other seasons do. Only winter has freezing cold, snow, snowmen, sleigh riders and skis. It will be weeks yet before the first buds of spring, but for a person looking for signs of spring on an ashen January day, a single bloom is promising enough or the sight of a robin flitting on the lawn.
Ahhh, we are in the last days of January, spring is just around the corner. As we enjoy sunshine and warmer temperatures this week, our minds wander and we hope for an early spring. Sunshine warms not only the body, but the soul as well.
Yes, spring. The season that brings us from those cold and dreary days of winter to the renewal of life. It’s no wonder that a Gallup poll said Americans favor spring as their favorite season, 36 percent compared to the runner-up, autumn at 27 percent. It has been America’s favorite season since the 1940s, probably longer than that, but polls (thank goodness) weren’t around back then. And it makes sense that among young adults, summer outpaces spring as the favorite season.
Fast forward a month, and we could be barefoot and digging in the dirt, hoping, no, knowing, that this tomato plant will produce the best tomatoes ever. We can already taste that first tomato sandwich, with its sweet and tart juices flowing from the corners of our mouths.
But, take hope. Spring is on the way. The days are growing longer, but still we are at that time of the year when the temperatures swing wildly – zero degrees last week and the 60s this week. Last week even as late as Sunday we were wrapped in winter’s wooly garb. This week it’s almost sweater weather. Next week we may see snow again.
But, for sure January is on its way out, and February – the shortest month of the year – is on its way in.
This week’s sunshine and warm temperatures serve to melt the snow and give us a ray of hope. Although school is still out in the county, and the snowman is yet to melt in some places, the sunshine and warm temperatures give us hope that spring is not too far away – just a couple flips of the calendar.
We can only hope for an early spring, but in the meantime, it is still winter, but the sun and warm temperatures are a breather from last week’s snow and cold, so enjoy it while it’s here. Next week could be a different story.
But, take hope, every day is one step closer to spring, daffodils, and the birds building their nests.