Signs of Spring

I actually remember her telling me about this incident when it happened, which must have been sometime in the late eighties, only as I remember it it was a sign of Fall, and the boy didn't just ask her to show him one; he showed her a leaf he'd picked up and asked her if it qualified.  I'm very certain of this, but memory being what it is, the question must remain unresolved.

As I was taking a neighborhood walk one day, a small boy approached me and said, “Mrs., can you show me a sign of spring?”

Further conversation with the child revealed that his teacher had assigned his class to bring signs of spring into the classroom to discuss. 

Fortunately we were standing by the edge of someone’s lawn where wild violets were starting to grow and there was one early dandelion.

I assured him that these would be good signs of spring.

This January, the weather has been very cold and the skies mostly overcast.

It seems that, the sunnier it  is, the colder it is.

But I know that spring is on the way by the behavior of the birds.

When they come to our feeder, they charge it, take a seed, and then fly back to a bush to enjoy their meal.

They seem in a constant state of agitation and movement.

In winter, they make themselves scarce, and in summer they are more languid.

But now they move quickly as if they are aware of nature coming to life again, and they want to  participate in it.

And the loudness of their chirping provides a lovely homecoming.

Our bedroom has a broken old air conditioner that we keep because birds build nests in its crevices, and we are awakened in the mornings with bird song.

Well, our family of birds has arrived. We can hear them although not see them.

And, when we drive the  highway to Quaker meeting on Sunday, whole rows of birds sit  on  the overhead power lines, seemingly just pleased to be alive.

Occasionally, we will see a huge flock of starlings flying back from wherever they have spent the winter. 

They darken the sky, there are so many, joyously flying back home.

When I see this, I am filled with awe at nature and the God who surely set this world in motion.

Would that I could always keep that faith.

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