It started snowing at the end of November. The first time is always the most memorable. The beautiful landscape all around, completely transformed, from the mellow red, amber and yellow of fall, to a dazzling pure white of winter. Everywhere around you, as far as you can see, stretches a blanket of white fluffiness.
And then, the fun part - sledding, tubing, snowshoeing, skiing, the list just goes on. But the best part is sitting by a wood-stove with a cup of coffee and a good book, watching the snowflakes glide down outside the window. I never got tired of admiring the beauty of winter.
But by the end of four straight months of deep freeze, somewhere in the back of my mind, I missed 'green'. And not only me, but everyone around me. Everyone craves for something fresh. Hopeful eyes gaze up to tree-branches looking for new buds ready to pop out. Farmers and gardeners count down to the days when they can sow their seeds. Snow, ice and cold is no longer a novelty. To put it in very simple and non-poetic terms - 'one gets BORED of it'. The days are definitely longer, but still there is no sign of spring.
And even nature acts as if it is almost teasing us. There will be a week of tantalizingly warm days, and you're almost sure that all the snow will definitely melt now. But on the weekend, it will suddenly get overcast and bring five inches of snow. It is pure torture! But maybe even nature gets tired of it, and at last, ends the game.
The snow melts, as the days pass, it melts faster and faster. Patches of brown grass and dirt start appearing. Frozen streams and brooks open up and start gushing. Birds start chirping everywhere. But nothing quite makes your day as this - the sight of the first flower of spring. A tiny little flower on the edge of a little patch of dry grass. Soon enough, there'll be lots more blooming, but for now, just one is enough. It is the surest sign that spring if finally, and definitely, here!
It's a miracle what a tiny thing like a flower can do for your mood!
