Spring is here!

In western New York, spring is a longed for event. Winter can tend be a little long here, and the beginning of spring is something we all look forward to.

In fact, those little signs that spring is near are talked about often when they first appear. The first tulip stalks that come out of the ground is like a major rite of passage, and they are always mentioned. As are the first robins to be seen.

A few years ago, a lady at our church used to know all the kinds of birds that frequented her feeder, and would always tell me when the finches, and woeblers, and blue jays, and all the other kinds of birds that are absent during the winter months, would make their spring appearances.

I don’t know that much about birds, but I don’t usually see the first birds of the season. By the time I see a robin, everyone else has given up talking about them. For whatever reason, I usually see the woodchucks on the side of the road eating up the spring grass. Or the skunk – I really don’t like seeing the skunk, but that’s what I see.

Today, I saw my first bee – well it’s almost a bird! But it was a reminder that spring is here. And I was glad I saw it.