by Tom Shafer
March 11, 2022
Okay, this really isn’t a dramatic title because Spring appears here yearly — as it does everywhere, I suppose. So I guess I could lose the exclamation point.
But, when the first flowers emerge against the stark decay of Winter, giddiness emerges with them because those flowers are happy harbingers of the season of rebirth. And once again, the purple crocus is this year’s winner — as it was last year!
In fact, when I looked back at a similar posting from 2021 (“Spring Has Sprung!” under the Naturelated tab), this same purple crocus surfaced on March 12th, so it is just one day earlier (though mathematically it is exactly one year later).
However, my exuberance is slightly diminished because though the day started bright and seasonal (it was about 47° by noon), the weather has gone downhill since.
In fact, we are likely to pick up two to three inches of snow this evening and suffer an icy 25° Saturday. But, temperatures will rebound into the fifties and sixties by early next week as we Ohioans enjoy our own version of March Madness (Go Dayton Flyers!). Oh, and daylight savings returns on Sunday so we’ve got that going for us as well.
Anyway, Spring is busy primping and preening for her grand arrival, and I don’t know anyone who isn’t looking forward to her glorious entrance and majesty. Hers is a season of revival, restoration, and renewal — and I’m ready to embrace the three R’s. Begone, cursed Winter, and all power to the purple crocus, whose beauty will surely overpower this last seasonal blast.
