By Johanna Mohringer
Lebanon — Practically all snow has melted and it felt so wonderful outside. I have been working in the yard, breaking branches for firewood, raking and standing in awe and wonder while gazing on patches of blooming crocuses and the faithful snowbells. Everywhere new sprouts shoot up out of the (still icy!) ground. They don’t abide by boundaries and just pop up everywhere, sometimes even in a path or in the grass field.
The birds have been active too. Their song is music for the ears. Sandhill cranes have been flying over; even some robins have been seen. Squirrels are gathering nuts. Is that already for next winter, or are more cold days on the way?
Lately we have not seen any mice in the house, so I hope they also are on spring break, enjoying this nice weather. I hope they like it so well that they decide to live outdoors again.
Oh, I am so thankful for the spring. This winter I did not think I would live long enough to see and experience the joy of a new season.
Even the honeybees are active on the new flowers. This afternoon my son thought first that a leaf came falling from the trees, but it did not go all the way down. It went back up and kind of danced in the sky. It was a butterfly.
Last week we were still buried under a blanket, or piles, of snow. The snow was also beautiful and I was even thankful I could sit in my chair at the window, close to the wood stove and see the world slide by. Yet, I admit this feels nicer — enjoying the sun and hearing the different birds. Yes, this time I really did hear them; not just in my imagination.
I got so enthused and drunk with spring joy, that I almost forgot I had to send in my column. I certainly would not want to forgo that for two weeks.
Last week I was kind of overwhelmed. First of all I was not feeling well. Then there was a house fire in the family and all kinds of trouble. Even my husband sent messages of distress from Michigan about friends of ours. I also heard that two of my cousins had died and a grandson was hurried to the hospital. It was one thing after another. Just when you feel depressed under all these happenings, along comes the change in the weather where everything is bright and beautiful.
Last week I also had a nice visit with a neighbor. When you live in the country you consider everyone who lives within two or three miles to be your neighbor. While she was here somebody else came with a large bag of beautiful baby yarn. I have gotten real busy on that one since I still hope to sell enough of my knitting and crocheting to have a well drilled in Haiti by Easter time. Right now there has been an outpouring from all over the world, but so often it is only a temporary fix.
Mother Earth has become real restless. There was that big earthquake in Chili after the Haiti catastrophe. The weather has been unpredictable, with heavy snowfall, rain, draught, flooding, etc.
Maybe that makes me so much more appreciative of the nice weather of the last days. Or is it only because I am getting older and during Lent the saying “Remember thou are dust and to dust thou shall return” begins to hit home. We will not live forever here on earth, but we live more intense and gain a deeper understanding of our own frailty, the need to help others, the need of friendships.
We cannot always live on the mountaintop. We have to go down into the valleys too, down in the dumps in other words. In the long run, it evens out and hopefully we can say at the end of our lives that it was good.
