Spring Has Sprung!

You wouldn't know it by the coating of snow on the ground this morning (which had melted a bit by the time I got around to taking the above photo), and the cold, windy day we had today, but spring is well on its way here in Freeville. 

The weeds are growing in the flowerbeds in front of the house, just as they were from the time I moved in last summer, but they're now being joined by their long-hidden colleagues: flowers that I didn't know were there.  It may just be a sign of how truly unaware I've been of the world around me - though I try to stay alert to nature - but it was a pleasant surprise to look out my dining room window one day and see flowers well on their way!

I think at least a couple of varieties have been planted.  I'm no good at identifying flowers, but if I had to guess, I would say there are some tulips and a couple of crocuses slowly rising from the soil and wood chips.  Spring doesn't officially start until the vernal equinox next Wednesday, and we're looking at a cold few days up until then, but don't tell that to these guys!

I have no idea what's in store for me.  How big will they get?  What color will they be?  How long until they open up?  With the appearance of just a little bit of green, my life suddenly became just a little more fraught with anticipation and expectation.

Spring is a time for new beginnings, for fresh starts, and to me, it makes more sense as a time to make resolutions than New Year's.  I've recently been putting together project proposals for work, I've started to plan my overhaul of the garden and the yard, and the spring has me re-evaluating the blog as well.  How can I best capture, express, and share all of the wonders that my first year of caring for my own yard will bring, and all of the thoughts that go with it?

Like the flowers springing up in the flowerbed, I'm sure the yard will have plenty more surprises for me in the months to come, as this beautiful life-covered rock that I'm privileged to stand on responds to the growing sunlight and longer days, and like the leaves that will soon be unfolding on the branches all around me, I want to soak it all in.  I'm setting out to make my own little plot of the world, and my own little corner of the web, the best they can be over the coming months.  What about you?