by Lynn Marie

Created on: May 12, 2008

Living in northern Wisconsin, I would say that the FIRST best thing about spring is being able to walk outside without having to put on a coat or even a jacket! The next best thing is being able to walk on GRASS - no ice or snow! The all time best thing is watching the ice leave the lake and being able to see the waves dancing for joy across the surface of the water. After a long, snowy winter you can actually forgot all of the joys of spring and each day is a new experience. The singing of the spring peepers adds a joyous song to the lengthening days. The extended daylight is also another great way to shatter all of the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Of course, spring also comes with a few days or weeks of reality checks. A late season snowstorm, several cold and dreary days will bring on talk of our brief summer season: "Hope you enjoyed our three days of summer, now we are starting fall and winter will be here tomorrow." And the best one that I have heard when an avid snowmobiler wondered what people "up north" did during the summer, a man replied, "Well, on that day we usually go on a picnic." We all know that this is ridiculous, and spring will surely come again and be more glorious than before. It is a site to behold, just how quickly all of the woodland plants spring to live. Where just several days before there was a mound of snow, now there are green hepatica leaves with their promise of the delicate flowers that cover the forest floors with delicate pink. It makes one wonder just how does such a delicate plant survive the brutal cold of the winter. Days and weeks of 20 below zero weather makes you believe that nothing will survive, but year after year, everything is renewed and the forest comes alive with the freshest color of green, the sparkling pinks of the cherry trees, the brilliant whites of the tiny dogwood, and the delicate purples of the violets. It takes away all the thoughts of "why am I living here?!" that comes in the last days of winter.

Spring also brings the return of the "snow birds". These are not actual birds, but the people who live here in the spring and summer and leave in late fall. Even though the "annuals" - those of us who live here all year long, snicker amongst the other "annuals" about the "wimpy snow birds" - we are truly happy to see them return. It is another rite of spring and someone to whom we can relate all of the horror stories of the previous winter. They will inevitable shake their heads and say, "I don't know how you can do it." This makes us feel better about ourselves and gives us added renewal to toughen up for the upcoming winter season, which we know comes too quickly every year.

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