Ah, Spring is in the air! Well, SOME days it is. Here in Texas, it’s kind of bouncing back and forth a little bit. 😉 But you can definitely feel a change in the air that milder weather is on the way – and boy does it feel good! For one thing, I’m something of a sissy – not one for freezing temps and wilting in anything warmer than about 80 degrees.

I should SO totally not live in Texas.

But I do. And I’m happy here.

I digress. 😉

What I CAN do is enjoy the wonderful weather while it lasts! For fun, here’s 13 Things I like about Spring — in no particular order.

13 Things I Like About Spring

1. The temperature! You knew that was going to be first, didn’t you? I enjoy the feel of warm breezes on a moderately cool day. It’s as if you can feel summer blowing in and breathing on your skin.
2. Butterflies – One of the few insects I actually approve of. Not because they’re really beneficial or anything – I have no clue what they actually do. But they are so graceful and delicate, how could I disapprove? Though all of God’s creation is wondrous, some just simply inspire a little more joy than others. I have a fondness for the soft yellow and white ones, though I have to say that perhaps that’s because we don’t get anything exotic here. Browsing this gallery of butterfly images, I fell in love with all the blues and reds. I also enjoy the really large ones – we had a huge one, easily 3 or 4 inches in diameter, flitting around our yard this past weekend, but it wouldn’t sit still long enough for me to get a good look at it’s markings. Possibly a monarch, but I couldn’t say for sure.
3. The color green – There’s this point that occurs every year, between ‘real winter’ and ‘real spring’, a point at which everything suddenly turns green all at once. The heavens open and rain showers down and the next day a layer of green suddenly greets the sunrise. I’m not one to sink into deep depression over the winter, but I do think there’s this point near the end of winter where I’m tired of the grey and the colorless and the cold and my motivation and productivity suffers. It’s a breath of fresh air, literally, when the first hints of spring arrive – breathing new energy into my day. I know I can ride that wave of green and happy until mid-summer when the rising temperatures scorch and dry the Texas landscape once again.
4. Hummingbirds – another one of my favorite wondrous creatures. Sure, sure, the bumblebee may be as wondrous but the hummingbird doesn’t sting! I could sit and watch the hummingbirds at the feeder for the longest time. It’s kind of like sitting and watching fish swim around in an aquarium. It’s relaxing and peaceful. Their wings beat so fast it almost seems like you should be able to hear them – like the buzz of a model airplane. And you can hear them if you get close enough, or they buzz by your ear. But the rest of the time, it’s almost like watching a silent movie, that seems like it should have sound, but it doesn’t.
5. Open curtains, open windows – one of the benefits of the milder weather is the ability to throw open the curtains and windows and let the breeze waft in while we do our chores or our school. It’s nice being able to bring a little bit of outside IN. It’s also nice to turn off the ac/heater and not use the electricity! Natural heating and cooling is the best!
6. Pansies – I don’t know what it is about these flowers that I enjoy so much. I suppose it is that they are both common and beautiful. They aren’t fancy, delicate, temperamental little things. They’re hardy and sturdy and common and ordinary. Yet – they still have a quiet, unassuming grace – their faces open up to the sun and smiling, simply being pretty. I deeply enjoy that I can grow them without killing them off and still maintain the appearance of a green thumb – and that may have something to do with it, too.
7. My girls’ birthdays. Both of my girls were born in the spring, just over a month shy of three years apart. Of course I enjoy celebrating the passing of their years, even if a little bittersweetly. Each year a little bit of the chubby cherub face slips away as a more slender, longer form emerges in it’s place. Princess, who will soon be nine, is beginning to look like a little lady. Her nose and face appears more slender, her neck more elongated – glimpses of the young woman she will one day become. Drama Queen, recently turned six, has shed that last bit of “little girl cocoon” and has emerged as a taller, longer-legged “big girl.” It happens without you noticing, really, until you pause to look at them and think: “My how they’ve changed!”
8. Marigolds – I know many people don’t like them, complaining they stink. But they smell like “childhood” to me. It’s a comforting smell. The smell of being a kid, summer, sunshines and smiles all wrapped up in one. Sappy? Perhaps. I hear they’re also natural pest repellents for gardens, so, hey, they can stick around. 🙂 People also complain about the smell of tomato plants and I like that, too. I guess I’m just weird that way.
9. Gardening – Every spring is a chance to start up a new “garden” albeit a container garden and pretend I actually know what I’m doing and that I might succeed in keeping a few things alive for more than a few weeks. I enjoy gardening, even if I do have a slightly less than green thumb and I think each year I learn a little bit more. Perhaps one day, I’ll have a really garden that I can really keep alive. And in that daydream (since we’re pretending for a moment) I’ll grow all sorts of vegetables and fruits to harvest and cook and can over the summer for enjoyment all throughout the winter. Ahh, daydreaming is nice, isn’t it?
10. Sending the kids outside more often!! The winter too chilly, mid summer too.. BOILING.. I look forward to the days in the spring (and the fall) where I can send them outside more often to run off some steam, take a break and be loud OUTSIDE instead of INSIDE. Especially with the schooling – recess is a good thing.
11. Rain – to an extent. I do NOT like severe thunderstorms with tornado warnings, I’m just saying that up front. Y’all. I do NOT like them. And I can get a wee bit tired of the rain if it’s droning on for the 6th or 7th or 8th day in a row. And I don’t really like getting out IN the rain and getting drenched with three kiddos in tow. But with those three, measely, insignificant, reasonable exceptions aside, I really don’t mind the rain. The steady downpour, the sound of the fat spring rain drops drumming on the windows and the roof, watching the little rivers and streams form in the yard and alonside the driveway, and with the low, non-threatening rumbles of gentle thunder in the distance — it’s kind of like the scene from Bambi, “drip drip drop little April showers”… nevermind that the movie has one of the saddest movie scenes of all time and a bittersweet ending, second in sadness as far as children’s movies go only to Watership Down. Ignore all that and think about the happy little song from Bambi. Hello spring showers.

12. Sitting outside listening to the birds – I KNOW if you live in the city where they have huge swarms of birds in the trees and on the buildings, you probably don’t share this sentiment. Let me assure you – it’s not the same. If you live in the country (or perhaps even in a small town or a suburb – though I can’t say b/c I’ve only ever lived in the country or in the big city), out here you can sit and hear random chirps and tweets answered by similar chirps and tweets. No loud ruckus or twittering frenzy. The country bird’s chirp chirp tweet lends an automatic laid-back and peaceful feel to the moment. Especially if you’re say, sitting on a porch, in a rocker, or swinging in a hammock. Hm. A Hammock. We need one of those.
13. Easter – No, we don’t get into traditional/commercial Easter around here. The last few years the kids and I have been doing the 12 Days of Easter (like Advent, but for Easter, and shorter.) It’s becoming a tradition we’re really coming to love. My favorite is the Easter morning sunrise bible reading with the kids. We wake up early, we get comfy on the couch (where we can watch the sun rise through the window because it’s COLD outside at that time and I already mentioned I’m a wimp) and while the kids watch the sun rise, I read the Easter story from the bible. For one of the few times a year this miracle actually happens, they are still, and quiet, and they listen. Then we pray together and, since we’re up early, have a REAL breakfast instead of our usual Sunday morning cereal. It’s a sweet, sweet thing.