1) Snow on daffodils. Tuesday morning we woke to a fluffy dusting of snow that clung to branches and flower petals without making a mess of the roads. It was pretty and soon it was gone. Just the way I like my snow! Growing up, snows like that were called “poor man’s fertilize” and farmers would hurry to plow it under in the garden before it melted.
2) Peepers. I love to wake to the song of the little frogs singing and then walk with them at dusk. It’s the music of spring!
3) Fresh asparagus. I think it’s kind of a shame that you can get just about any produce any time of year these days. I remember how Mom treasured those first asparagus shoots poking up through the warming soil. Thank goodness for farmer’s markets where you can still find the real thing! Of course, my great-grandmother wouldn’t have had such fancy fixins–she would probably have enjoyed poke sallat or dandelion greens.
4) Fiddleheads. There’s just something about those tightly furled fronds that’s gorgeous to me. When hiking with my husband, I love to point out flowers and plants. He prefers to call them all “fiddleheads.”
5) Lambs. When I was a kid, spring was all about the new calves. Dad and would walk out to check on the mothers about to give birth. Now I get to drive past a local farm college’s lambing pasture every morning and evening. And yes, I have pulled over to watch lambs frolic. I mean, how can you not?!?
6) Seed catalogs. I don’t grow many vegetables anymore (even when I try, I don’t grow many!), but I still love flipping through the pages of those colorful catalogs. Giant tomatoes, golden corn, plump strawberries, crookneck squash, new potatoes, baby lettuces . . . Oh, shoot. Maybe I will plant something again this year!
7) Open windows. It’s a bit early yet, but any time the temperature creeps upwards of 65 I sneak a window open at least for a little while. The day I can leave them open all night listening to the peepers will be perfection!
Meet Sarah
