Today is the first day of spring, which means different things to different people. Having lived on the West coast of central Florida for the last 20 years, Spring simply meant the end of late summer and the beginning of pre-summer. That area provides continuous warm/hot days, lush foliage and blooming flowers throughout the year, so the changing of seasons was mostly insignificant.
This week not only marks the beginning of spring but the one year anniversary of living in Western North Carolina, where spring has a whole new meaning. Winters in this area are generally mild, so weather wise, the winter to spring transition isn't too significant, but as I make my way through the heavily forested areas around me I find multitudes of trees preparing to bloom into Spring. The colors are not as dominating as the Fall "leaf season". But to spend some time on a hillside looking across the spans of bare branched hardwoods an entire pallet of colors, in the form of tightly bound buds, opens up before your eyes.
The anticipation that soon there will not only be beautiful sunrises, skies, and sunsets, but lush, thick leaved forests as well, brings on a whole new meaning to spring.
