Spring Harbinger

Elusive. It peeks its head..and then disappears. It shows its first hint of color..and then fades back to its monochome grey.

Spring - quite simply - hasn't been spring. Not this year.

Flowers are slow to show. Buds on trees have yet to blossom. Some years - they say - it arrives early. This year - it's unusually late. Why is it that for just once - it might arrive in perfect time?

The magnolia - sweet..fragrant..delicate - for me..always marks the beginning. Hopeful. A harbinger of what's to come. Lilacs and cherry blossoms. Green grass. Sunshine and warmth..and bare feet. But mostly - the magnolia marks an unwritten promise that the world is soon to be transformed. From what it is today..to one that will be lush and fresh and in brightly painted technicolor.

And I know - we're all looking forward to that....