A season for hope

Nothing clears the mind (and messes up the hair) like a ride in the back of a friend’s convertible. It was such a gorgeous spring day yesterday I couldn’t resist the invitation to “cruise” down the boulevard with three of my co-workers. We all needed to get away from our desks and clear our minds. It was the perfect antidote.

On the way back to work, my friend who was driving cranked up the radio and we hollered and laughed, enjoying the last few moments of our lunch hour.

Spring has a tendency to bring out the kid in all of us. There’s something about the rising temperatures after our confinement from the cold winter months that draws us outside and causes us to be a little giddy.

I’m not totally opposed to winter. I do like snow, the holidays, snuggling under a blanket and the frosty chill in the air. But when I feel the mercury starting to rise, see flowers poking through the ground and the trees starting to bud, I rejoice in the promise of warmer weather.

The other day, a pair of house finches checked out the light fixture on my front porch. It seems to be a popular place for them to make their nest. They’re also attracted to the wreath just outside my front door. The robins, however, seem to prefer the flower pots.  As long as the neighborhood cats stay away, my porch becomes a nursery for baby birds every spring.

For weeks now, I’ve heard birds chattering joyfully, heralding the advent of spring. I get a little annoyed on Saturday mornings though when I’m trying to sleep late and the sparrows and starlings seem to be having an argument just outside my bedroom window.