Easter -- Spring Springing

I don't celebrate Easter but I do celebrate the coming of spring although in this part of the country it's one step forward, one step back. This afternoon the morning gray had turned sunny and the temperature got over 60. I went for a walk in the woods surrounding a couple of ponds looking for signs of spring in the still brown/gray of leafless trees.

My first intimation was a young couple sitting on a picnic table, he in sleeveless turquoise tee shirt. They were gazing at the pond and totally self-absorbed. Ah, spring and young lovers. My walk was slow and meditative. The lichen was a brilliant green, a couple of men were fishing in the pond. I met the expected dogs and their people and watched a sure footed young couple jog down a tricky steep part of the path. And I found that briars were turning an acid green and had mean sharp thorns already. This is the beginning -- rhododendrons are evergreens and so was the one holy tree I saw. Back home at my apartment I look out on a green lawn which is beginning to sprout dandelions like bright yellow buttons attached to the grass. Robins have arrived and are busy chasing both bugs and one another. Spring is springing.t