This is My Spring…

… and I’m fine with it.

I’ve seen lush green meadows, full bloom flowers, and fresh plump berries from many of your spring posts. I must share with you what I’m getting…

It’s a long process before green appears, but we’re used to that. Spring for us is a gestation of life, a long process. There can be false starts too, teasing us with more snow. It tests our patience.

First we wait for all the snow to melt:

The melting Bow River
Another view, another colour

A closer look only fascinates me more, the sight and sound of spring… a rythmic ploink… ploink.

Dripping ice water
Icy frame of a kaleidoscope

The slowness of spring allows me to cherish a while longer the sights of a season past:

Snow bank along the Bow
Remnants of a colourful fall

Meanwhile… the buds silently appear. No greens yet, but still a sure sign of spring. Brown tips burgeoning out everywhere, keen and strong:

Sure sign of spring

Before the greens, many colours have to parade by, nature’s processional. As a spectator, I can only applaud.

Spring will burst forth in all its glory…  in its time.

***

Published by

Arti

If she’s not birding by the Pond, Arti’s likely watching a movie, reading, or writing a review. Creator of Ripple Effects, bylines in Asian American Press, Vague Visages, Curator Magazine.

31 thoughts on “This is My Spring…”

  2. Beautiful photos! We had a fast and early spring here but lately the temperature has returned closer to April normal and we’ve had frost the last few nights which has not been good for all the flowers that had started to bloom!

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    1. Stefanie,

      We’re snowing heavily as I write this reply. Guess it’s good for the ground, snow or rain, it’s moisture… just sent a photo on Twitter.

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  3. Lovely photos. I enjoyed the early Spring blooming here, but the temp has been below freezing in the mornings this week. Spring colors were over quickly, but it will be awile before less tolerant plantings can color gardens here. I’ll be happy, though, without snow and ice until December!

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    1. Anne,

      It’s snowing cats and dogs right now as I reply your comment. We’ll be having more white stuff the next few days. That’s spring for us.

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  4. Beautiful photos. It’s been hitting the mid-eighties where I live, for a couple weeks. Cold this morning though! 🙂

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    1. Jillian,

      it’s 0c now (32F), and snowing heavily. It was raining the whole day until the temp. lowers in the evening. Just sent out a tweet of a photo of what it’s like. Check my tweets. 😉

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  5. Everything looks so lovely and new. We are green here with all the rain we’ve had but it’s chilly. Well, chilly for California (40 at night, 62 during the day).

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    1. Ti,

      As I was telling everyone… it’s snowing heavily right now. Glad to have taken these photos 12 days ago. But, spring will come… in due time.

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  7. Absolutely magnificent blue skies, Arti. Spring is indeed coming. Nevermind the snow that’s still arriving! We, on the other hand, are getting April showers — a nice surprise.

    To answer your question about kumquat marmalade, there’s actually quite a lot of sweetness in kumquats but it’s all in their skin. So for the marmalade, I snip out the inner membranes along with seeds and cut the skin (there isn’t any pith to speak of) into strips. The particular recipe I used also included honey which adds a mellow sweetness.

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    1. Thanks for the tips. I always find the most interesting, fusion style culinary ideas from your blog. As for these photos, I took them about 2 weeks ago. And guess what, there was major snowfall last night. It’s all melted now. Good for June flowers. 🙂

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  8. Oh Arti, your close attentions to your process into spring are soul-filling. My love of winter was not satiated this year, as we barely had a winter to speak of. Then we had heat in March that brought spring and tulips too soon. Now it is back to a “normal” temp for spring, and I am happy. I love how you dwell on the changing colors and the slow melt. This is the way to watch things unfold, and to relish the buds as they inch out into leaf and flower. Just lovely. Thank you for the pictures, both visual and in words.

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    1. Thank you Ruth for your kind comment. We’ve had a warm winter too, and now sort of back to seasonal normal. That’s why we had one of the heaviest snowfall for last evening. But by day the snow had all but melted. Tulips? They’ll have to wait another month I think.

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    1. Thanks Diane. BTW, I still can’t leave any comment on your blog. After I’ve written one up, click the ‘publish’ button, it totally disappeared.

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  10. When I was growing up, the spring thaw came about March. We still could get snow, but the drifts, icicles and pond ice sometimes were completely gone when we got our last snow.

    Spring sounds: the drip, drip, drip of melting icicles, and the sudden clatter when a line of them would fall from the roof. There was a sound, too, when the ice on the pond had started to thin, but you couldn’t notice it until you tested the ice with your weight. We’d scream, and run for the banks!

    Well, and then there was the mud, which could land you in a ditch, to be pulled out with a farmer and his tractor, when you were supposed to be studying at the library but took the family car for a spin in the country. Or so I’ve heard. 😉

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    1. Linda,

      The spring thaw… yes, that’s the term. I was delighted to find all the floes on the river and the melting ice on the banks. I only had a pocket camera, but had a great time taking all these photos, plus many more. This is a time when I long for a better equipment.

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  12. While I so rejoice in Spring’s beauty, and it is an absolutely gorgeous Spring here in Illinois, I am still lamenting the fact that I didn’t get enough Winter! Two little snowfalls were not enough for this Winter-loving girl (who abhors humidity and sweat!) Your pictures are quite lovely, Arti, and allowed me to catch a beautiful glimpse into your world.

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    1. Bellezza,

      We didn’t have much of a winter either, even here in Alberta, Canada. You see all this snow, the temp. isn’t that bad and we always have sunny days here… except now. 😉

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  13. We had so little snow this winter, I have almost forgotten what it looks like! Do you usually have snow this late in the season?

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    1. booksnyc,

      We didn’t have much of a winter either. And by March, it looked like spring. But now in mid-April, we’re getting what we had missed, snow and chill. oh well, we’d enjoyed a short winter so I shouldn’t mind this bit of a cold snap.

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  15. How interesting to see your slow spring with all its reversals. When spring comes here in the UK, it usually blossoms forth quite fast. Only we began spring very early this year and then the cold returned, so the leaves on the trees have grown in tiny increments. That’s very unusual and gives me some idea of what you are experiencing!

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    1. litlove,

      Yes, I think our March was warmer than our April so far. It wasn’t too much of a winter this year. I quite enjoy the slow thaw, gives you time to prepare for Spring. Spring means lots of yard work and cleaning and all those undesirable chores. 🙂

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