Today is a seasonal blend of summer warmth, the first of spring breezes and the last little bits of winter crystals poured into the baking pan of Springtime and topped with marshmallow clouds in a sky of azure blue.
The bees and other insects are brought into flight as they sip the first of this season's wildflower nectar from the colt's foot bright yellow faces.
A glorious hillside of these little cups of
sunshine beckon us to sit and feel the throbbing pulse of life coming to life in all
things great and small in these hills and valleys of home.
Just on the edge of our hearing the sweet strands of this season's first chorus of spring peepers invites us to listen closely.
Yesterday the skies were filled with Canadian honkers, the largest V-for-mation we have ever seen, along with a rare glimpse of a black squirrel, a ruffed grouse and the rich smells of the awakening woodlands.
Our journey brings the joy of the day lily, dandelion, and yellow mustard to the appreciative eye.
Box turtles delight us with their springboard jump into the wetlands of our Mother The Earth as they sense our presence and as we marvel at the difference a few days can make.
Streams are filled with mountain pure water. There the kingfisher dodges in and out of riffs and pools for its meal of the day.
The wind blows from low to high to blow last year's bush, grass and blade to make way for this year's new growth.
The sun's warmth is delicious against our skin. Our eyes and ears watch and listen to the first robin redbreast, swooping swallows, and song sparrows.
Buds swell, grass is greening, the air is sweet - Our Mother The Earth is slowly hatching life for another year.
And so it is on this beautiful day - a celebration for all those in tune with the rhyme and reason of Appalachian Mountain Country's rhythm and seasons.
Copyright © 1988-2000 Barbara A. Smith and John G. Hipps. All rights reserved.
This essay was first published March 21, 1989 in the Free-Press Courier, Westfield, Pennsylvania.