Welcome to my favorite season, which this year begins March 20. Anyone who knows me is aware of my dislike, bordering on hatred, for winter.  Those months are depressing, with their colder temperatures and limited sunlight, but I think it’s the snow  that bothers me the most, probably because it needs the cold to exist. I’ve often said I might enjoy playing in the stuff if I could do it at 70° or 80° outside (that’s 21° or 27° Celsius).

My least favorite day every year comes in June with the summer solstice, because every day that follows is shorter than the one before. For the same reason, I love the arrival of the winter solstice, because from that point each day is longer. The difference, at least to begin, is only a minute or two, but it’s the psychological effect. Warmer days are coming! Yes, they are three months or more in the future, but that doesn’t matter. The realization that winter will end lifts my spirits and for me that is a victory.

I love spring, when the grass transforms from its winter brown to a carpet of green, seemingly overnight. Flowers soon add their various shades of color and blossom shapes, each unique. To me, though, it is the sight of buds on formerly bare tree branches that prove spring has arrived. I love watching a leaf emerge from its winter prison, the first hint of green followed by the leaf, still curled about itself as if for protection from the elements. To me, few things are prettier than a tree-lined street in spring, the leaves on their branches interlocking overhead to create a brilliant green roof.

Of course, nothing tops walking a trail with only my dog for company. Two or three hours on the river bank trail allows me to forget my troubles for awhile and often gives me ideas when I’m stuck and can’t seem to find a way past a difficult plot point.

Less than two weeks to go! Once I get past that momentous day, I will give myself permission to begin planning spring and summer 2023.