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The winter in Toronto this year has been long, cold, and snowy; no end is in sight yet. But I have faith that by June we will definitely be seeing warmer weather. I need to remind myself just why it is that we hope for spring.
Some of the obvious things that spring brings, though not in chronological order, are: lilacs, tulips, crocuses, my lovage plant surging back into full leaf, violets invading every part of my rock garden, lilies of the valley trying to move beyond the dark corner where I allow them, garlic chives exuberantly leaping up where I least expect them.
During a northern retreat last April, spring had just brought the goldfinches. They'd been olive drab all winter, but just days before we arrived their golden feathers pushed out the drab olive feathers, turning those little birds into fairy-tale creatures. Eight of them lived in the nearby trees and used the feeder near the house. They were unbelievably brilliant, their golden feathers not yet dimmed by the dust of a hot summer. As we ate on the little screened-in porch, our attention was continually drawn to the darting motions as one after another they swooped in and out to the feeder. They were a little shy, that first day we were on the porch, of getting too close to the humans. But by day three they were feeding boldly just two feet from us.
And I hadn't known until that weekend that hummingbirds perched. I thought they always ate on the wing and always darted from place to place. A rustic twig-built archway defined the entrance to a path near the feeders. The ruby-throated hummingbird perched continuously on the topmost bit of the arch, his eye always on the hummingbird feeder. He spent the entire day aggressively watching for any sign that an intruder wanted to drink from his feeder. And as soon as an intruder appeared, our little guard fiercely attacked, invariably routing the newcomer. Mission accomplished, the vigilant little hummingbird darted back to his perch and surveyed his kingdom. The price of sugar-water is eternal vigilance.
Back in the city once more, I revel in the territorial songs of the returning cardinals and the melodies poured out by ubiquitous robins. No matter where I am, it's finally Spring!
http://www.scenesfromthejourney.blogspot.com
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