Spring Force

Spring moves quickly. Saturday morning we stood in a friend’s yard talking about lawns and trees and plants, shivering just a bit in the breezy shade of tall pines. Later the temperature rose to 82F and Sunday it was 81F; a sudden heat wave after a cool April. It felt hot, even though wasn’t hot by our summer standards; you could feel the coming heat of summer from the sun like a memory.

We haven’t had much rain, either. The air has been dry and has slowed down the sprouting plants and parched the soil with stiff, steady breezes and gusting winds. You can feel the dryness in your eyes after spending a day like that outside. Sometimes even drinking water doesn’t quite quench your thirst; it merely postpones it a bit as the sun and the wind take back their share from breath and sweat.

Today it will rain and cool off a bit. I can already smell the rain, even though it hasn’t started yet. The trees and plants know it, too, because they have been waiting; they can sense the speed with which summer is approaching. It’s in the air.