From long years past, I have loved spring more than any other time of the year. Everyone else longs for fall and sings of the glories of that time of the year. But for me, spring is the glorious time that makes the heart swell. I have loved spring ever since those central Texas college years when the coming of spring brought with it hills covered in bluebonnets, bright blue skies that stretched from horizon to horizon, and long darkening evenings warm enough to stay out and enjoy the sounds coming from open dormitory windows all across the campus. It is still a profound memory. I loved those sounds in the night: bits of conversation drifting through the dark, the distant sound of a practice room piano mingling with a nearby radio, a dog's bark, an insect's whir, laughter, and the peaceful quiet that settled over all as night settled over us. That is how my love of spring began.
And now, on that first day when I see the silver green that lines the branches of the winter bare trees, I claim spring and begin to look for all the vestments that spring wears. All this I saw this week as I drove down my very favorite Fort Worth street, Ridglea Blvd. Ridglea is the artery that leads me from the area in which I live to Camp Bowie; and it is lined with lovely, older homes, built ins a time when the bathrooms were small but the lawns were large. I have driven that street now for nine years, weekly when not daily; and I seem to know every home, every tree, all the flowers that line the street. And Monday, the trees showed that silver green and by today, trees were filled with flowers and others were showing their leaves as green. I was excited by this coming of spring.
When spring comes, I celebrate it in my way. What do I do? I buy daffodils at Tom Thumb. You all get out and dig in the dirt, plant herbs and flowers, and consider your gardens. Not having a garden, I buy daffodils, lots of daffodils. When they sell for $2 a bunch of 10, I may buy as many as 50 to put in vases throughout my apartment and enjoy. For me, the daffodils are the sign that spring is here and the bleakness of winter is gone. It may yet blow wet and cold for one last time, but I do not care. Daffodils are in my house, spring is definitely here, and I am completely happy.
