by Robert Brow (web site -
www.brow.on.ca)
Spring is joie de vivre, the end of cabin fever. Spring is freedom from snow scrapers, jump cables, rubbers, parkas, woollen hats, gloves. Sailors dream of putting their boat in the water. Those who planted daffodil and tulip bulbs look to see their faith rewarded. The young at heart are foolishly tempted to fall in love. The old are thankful they didn't need a hip replacement. I can't think of anything bad about spring, except the income tax forms.
For me, spring is heralded by peeling off my sweater and shirt and feeling warm enough to catch some sun. I live on Dog Lake, so I can watch a couple of young beavers out on their first excursion. Again and again they climb on a floating slab of ice just 30 feet away, and slide into the water again.
Soon the first tree swallows will arrive to see if my nesting boxes are up to standard for their family. One year three or four thousand geese used our lake as a motel. Each flock came over honking, a scout circled down to make sure the residents were friendly, and then they chattered for an hour before settling for the night. They had all left on their way north before dawn.
But the seasons are also metaphorical for the business cycle. You shouldn't put in new plants when the growing season has ended. People who thought the summer boom would go on for ever got nipped in the fall. And we have had a long cold winter of recession. The housing market has been dormant. But now the signs of spring are like buds ready to burst with leaves. The new economy is already growing.
Admittedly it is sad seeing some of the big trees being chopped for firewood. That's pretty painful for those who expected a steady job in the same old company till they retired. They could do with seeing spring as a growing season. Canada was built by people with a mind for the changing seasons.
How do you greet spring? The same is true in a home on a farm or in business. Spring cleaning means throwing out the junk, cleaning the yard, fixing the fence, putting away in mothballs the clothes you won't need till winter.
Gardeners have already ordered their seeds. And those who expect a job
have already sent out their resumes. Then you start digging as soon as
the ground can be worked. It's those who expect spring to come and are
ready for it who seem to enjoy it most. Frankly when my daffodils appear,
I don't want to listen to those who are still complaining about how bad
the winter was.