Wake up! Wake up!

It’s official. Spring has sprung! Technically, it has for the last few days. However, not until now have I finally been in the mindset for it. I’ve been in denial, even with the warm, sunny days we’ve had. I was trying to maintain a little flame in hopes of one last winter flare up, but alas, it’s been snuffed out.

Everything is greening up…fast! Buds are popping out on the trees, tulips are peaking out from leaf beds, peepers and chorus frogs have begun their daily symphony under the stars, and farmers are in the fields, spreading manure or plowing (as I saw one Amish farmer doing on the drive back home for break).

How could one remain in denial after seeing this?

And the days are becoming longer! Forgot that one. It is doing wonders for my psyche. The late winter drear is always the worst, mostly because you know the end is near. To get out and enjoy part of the day after class has been great also! I broke out my bike again too, so a little more exercise doesn’t hurt either :) I put away some of the winter gear too (not that there were ample opportunities to use it) but still, I was able to pack it away for the most part. 

Ok I’m going to switch gears a bit…but it is related to spring in a round-about way in that the vernal season just brings giddy child-like enthusiasm to the surface.

A while back I wrote about finding my inner child through pottery painting. Well, I found another piece of it this weekend as a friend and I were hiking along the St. Croix River. The trail we hiked along was carved into the face of a limestone cliff that rose up from the river and was covered in bits of the broken limestone. A few times, we stopped to marvel at how calm the river was in the early evening. We looked down at the trail and then back at each other, sharing the same thought.

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there is something ridiculously satisfying about whipping a rock as far as you can into water. For me, the urge to throw a rock is no different from swiping a finger through a freshly frosted cake or blowing on a dandelion puff ball. I am inexplicably drawn and overcome with the need to do it. Consequences (if there were any) be damned! The itch to do it will never cease until you do it.

One of our hypotheses (other than the urge) was the sploosh of the rock as it plunges into the water. You know what I am talking about.

I was also tempted to climb down to the water’s edge more than once to scope out some nice, flat stones. Although I am horrible at it, I love skipping stones. With the water so still, it would have been perfect! Again with the urges…

In addition to finding another bit of my inner child on this hike, I also had WOW (wildlife of the week) moment! Most of you know I have an almost absurd infatuation with raptors, and well, Bald Eagles are no exception. While we were hiking, I heard that distinctive cackling. I stopped to listen for moment, heard it again, and whipped my head upward. There were two eagles soaring probably no more than 20 yards above us. They were so close you could hear the whoosh as they dived and then powerful flapping of their wings after before they were out of sight. I can still hear it if I listen carefully.

I wish I had thought about it at the time, but in the words of Ronald Weasley….Wicked! (Just for you, Mandy :) Oh and for those of you who are also hopelessly enchanted with the world of Harry Potter!)

On a completely unrelated note…I have confession to make. I’ve broken my Facebook hiatus, if only for a few moments. At the time I took leave from Facebook, quite a few friends have had or have been having babies, and since then I’ve also been hearing through some grapevines, that more friends are now expecting. Needless to say, curiosity has gotten the best of me. 

I have no intentions of making Facebook a daily habit again, but since logging back in, I have yet to deactivate it and to go back on it since I first logged in again last week. I have been thinking on and off about slowing reintroducing myself, not quite sure yet though. We’ll see if that day comes. For now, I’m opting not to deactivate it again, mostly as a test. 

Wish me luck!