For glad spring has began,
And to the ardent sun
The earth, long time so bleak,
Turns a frost bitten cheek.– Celia Thaxter, American poet (1835-94)
From Frank Sinatra to the Beatles, the coming of spring has been a season of creative endeavor. Who can forget the 1945 Sinatra song, “It might as well be spring,” in the movie “State Fair”? In the song, Sinatra sings about “spring fever” – it is not really any type of fever, but some restlessness one feels with the coming of the awaited season in the Northern Hemisphere. For most of us – it’s a new beginning of nature’s renewal. From Sinatra to the Beatles, everyone is euphoric with the daffodils poking up their heads, perennials blooming, birds singing.
The Beatles recorded their famed song “Here Comes the Sun” between July-August of 1969. It was composed by George Harrison, as he was taking a little respite from the band to have some time to himself. At the time, he was going through a difficult phase as his mother was ill, and he was also not getting along with the band members. It was an awakening as he was sitting in the garden at the countryside home of his friend, Eric Clapton. Harrison was strumming the chords of his acoustic guitar as the sun came out after a lonely winter. Then he sang the first line, “Here Comes the Sun…” Essentially, the lyrics of this beautiful song reflect his relief at the arrival of spring. George immortalized this song as the warmth of the sun made him look forward to the coming of the spring.
Spring officially starts today (March 20) on the East Coast. Everyone is saying, “Finally!” This has been a very rough winter. I got tired of seeing tree branches coated with frost and icicles hanging from the bare branches. The “Old Man Winter,” a personification of the winter season, wanted to linger a few more weeks as it did not want the winter to end. But suddenly everything started to change. Incidentally, on March 20, “Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is celebrated by millions across the Iranian cultural sphere, including in Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, and Central Asian countries, as well as by diaspora communities worldwide.”
On March 7, at dawn, I heard a groundhog making music outside my window. It came out of its hole after an exceedingly long winter sleep to see its shadow. If the day is shadowless, it regards spring is almost here and it stays above ground.
The emergence of springtime hits us as a ray of sunshine after a long gray season. With the arrival of spring comes new life. Each morning after waking up and seeing the visual aspect of nature that is changing, things growing all around me with renewed vigor is the highlight of spring. Yesterday afternoon, I spotted birds migrating northward. I also realized this is just the beginning of spring as worms and grubs are reappearing from their winter hideouts. For that reason, last night, the full moon that I saw is called the “Worm Moon.”
In a short time, the leafless tree branches will abundantly fill up with volumes of beautiful leaves in all shades of green. The grass under one’s feet will feel soft, plush. Essentially, there will be a revival of nature after a long dormant and dismal winter.
It feels wonderful to think that very soon the grass in the yard will be growing; the unsightly brown patches will turn lush green as we had applied new grass seeds, and organic fertilizer during the period of winterization last November. It is an amazing sensation to spend a couple of hours outdoors after many months. Gray and brown colors of winter are about to give away to spring.
Another good thing for me about spring is that in a few days, I can put away my warm clothes and heavy coat. These garments weigh a ton. Organizing my closet with lightweight everyday clothes is something I have always enjoyed doing. Gray, brown, and black garments of winter will be replaced with white, light green and pastel colors. While doing it, I can take an inventory and get rid of the clothes I haven’t worn in two years. Filling donation boxes with almost new clothes gives me a sense of relief that when my donation reaches a distribution center, they will repack and send it to countries where they are in dire need.
The first part of spring this year coincides with Ramadan. Therefore, I will have to wait to toss a big bowl of salad for lunch using freshly picked spring mix and homemade dressing. I am also sorting through my spring recipes that I will make with fresh seasonal vegetables that we get at the Farmer’s Market every Sunday.
What else signifies the arrival of spring in my area? For starters, the celebration of Holi, the Hindu festival of colors. On March 14, a lot of the Indian origin residents in the Washington DC tri-state area celebrated Holi. This ceremony signifies rebirth and rejuvenation after the full moon was in sight. To officially greet the coming of spring, the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC is well underway. That starts at the end of March. Washington will be transformed into a stunning floral landscape with exotic pink and white cherry blossom trees in full glory.
There will be other festivities such as Easter and Passover in April.
Of course, rain showers happen throughout the springtime. There is a saying, “April showers bring May flowers” – that much needed rain brings out the flowers.
In the literary world, the poetry of Emily Dickinson is often referred to as a theme of resurrection. It turns out that very often it is compared with the coming of spring. Those who are deep into finding the true meaning of a poem pose a question: “What is spring that was a once-in novelty?” In one of Dickinson’s poems it goes like this, “spring is on the cusp, already rising through the earth.” The poem then asks what if we had never learned to look from this window, meaning the arrival of spring. What if we had no expectation of spring? To most of us such metaphysical questions do not have an easy answer. We expect spring to be something that appears every year as science tells the reason behind it. I am content with the explanation that scientific facts are based on continuity we call nature.
I was pleased to discover the common nuisance, the dandelions, haven’t sprouted yet on the area front yards so far. Though it is still early in the growing season for them. If they don’t grow, that means we can expect to have a dry summer except the April showers. It is necessary for everything to grow.
Then on the day before spring, standing on the front steps of our porch, I was feeling out of sorts. It is because of the trying events of the day. Before that, I was joyful to see the sun rising, and the temperature getting warmer. Most of that afternoon, I was in my front yard in my muddy work shoes, pulling out some of the prickly, dried up twigs. Normally, I do enjoy being in the garden. I was thinking when the temperature is a little warmer, I can start planting new bulbs. I was also contemplating when it is all clean, what types I should be planting this spring. At this point, I was only hoping my front garden would be in top shape in a few weeks.
Early spring brings vivid greens to this forest setting in northern Maryland (Steve Ember)
Each day, the temperature gradually rising, and it changes from day to day. In the last couple of days, most afternoons, I was cleaning all the debris, pruning the dead flower heads of the many hydrangeas we have all around the house. That is a massive undertaking.
The perennials have just started to show buds before blooming. I can see the iris, tulips, and peonies will be offering countless forms and colors. As I took out the row covers that remained in place with bricks during the winter months—I contemplated a nice bed of lilies, while a single sparrow rested on the branch of my Dogwood tree. It was waiting for the others to return from the South. I am not sure how it got separated from its flock. The daisies, along with the tulips are about to bloom. I can almost see the possibilities when I would be able to enjoy the splendid fragrance.
All the work will be done by now if we can find our seasonal help Emmanuel. With the coming of spring, he has disappeared and left us to have hands-in-the-dirt experience. Finally, word came to me that Emmanuel has gone for an extended visit to his native country, in South America, to care for his ailing father. Hearing it, my immediate thought was “I hope he can come back.” These days traveling to South America, and in coming back through immigration and customs is a difficult thing. Most people from that region are putting travel plans on hold for now. I am hoping that he will come back safely to help us in the summer with the cutting of grass at least.
Hope is all we can do when a task falls on our shoulder that we are not very accustomed to doing. We need hope to stay afloat till the storm passes.
Cherry blooms in the Tidal Basin area overlooking the Washington Monument
“Springtime, the grass is greener,
The berry grows redder on the vine
Into each life, there will come sunshine,
Sometime after the rain
Don’t be downhearted, before tears get started,
Let springtime make you smile again.”
Zeenat Khan lives in Maryland, USA
