Spring to Life

By Leigh

As I write this post it is a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 50's, but Oklahoma weather is never consistent.  Tomorrow we are going to be under a winter weather watch!  It's said that if you don't like the weather in Oklahoma just wait around 5 minutes and it will change. But soon winter weather will be behind us and the days will become warmer and longer.   Something I look forward to every year!

But even with the winter weather still here I can see signs of Spring all around me.  Taking a walk in my backyard reveals Stella d'Or Daylilies beginning to sprout and new growth on the roses and buds on the trees.  The birds are flocking to the feeders for some extra energy to build their nests.  Amazing things happen in the Spring.  Not only the flowers and trees coming to life, but the return of butterflies, bees and birds.  The buzzing all around us makes us feel even more alive!

Spring is a time of transformation.  The leaves we saw fall and the flowers we saw wilt are now budding into fresh, new and lush plants.   Sometimes we get so excited for about the renewal of Spring that we clean everything up and cut everything back, but for some plants their new growth sprouts from that old wood.  We are in a hurry to cut away the old and seemingly dead branches, but if we do there will be no buds to bloom into flowers.  There has to be an understanding of what each plant needs to grow and thrive just as each of us needs understanding and respect to nurture our own spiritual and physical growth. 

Spring reminds me that for life to begin and grow it needs to be taken care of.  With proper pruning, watering, feeding and sunlight it will thrive.  I watch the fertile soil turn little brown seeds into food that feeds us.  I see butterflies emerge from their cocoons and take flight.  I hear the chirping of baby birds in the nest.  I watch as the bees flit from flower to flower carrying the pollen just as they were designed to do.   Everything has it's place and a plan to follow.  It's important to take the time to slow down and tune into the world around us.  When we do, our appreciation for nature will grow and perhaps mother nature will teach us some lessons for our own life.  And hopefully our respect for the world around us will also grow and we will take care of it just as it takes care of us.

"Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth." 

~Henry David Thoreau-Walden