Spring, Sunshine, and Free Flowers

As Spring gently settles into the Northland, tiny green leaves sprout from branches, tulips, daffodils, and blue bells add dashes of color to many a still gray day, and the birds sing a cheerful song even when the temperature dips far below what anyone might imagine for this time of year. The local weather forecasts a low of 26 degrees Fahrenheit for Saturday night, May 14, and the possibility of snow flurries for Sunday morning. Brrr!

I admit that I visit my family in Pennsylvania at the end of May to experience Spring in a much more Southern clime where the trees are fully leaved, the entire world smells like flowers, and shorts are actually temperature appropriate for at least some of my two week stay. After enduring winter's lengthy stroll toward Spring's slow unfurling, I'm impatient for consistently warm sunny days that I know are still at least a month away in Duluth, MN, where it doesn't really feel like Summer until July 4 each year.

This Spring has been exceptionally genteel featuring spurts of glorious warmth, stunning blue skies and unending sunshine. Predictably and seasonably, however, the weather returns to days of cloudy gray where a 20-25 mile per hour wind off of chilly Lake Superior is mildly described as breezy.

Since moving here 4 years ago, I've truly come to appreciate the value of seizing the moment where the weather is concerned. I used to take sunshine for granted. No longer. Now when the sun shines I make it a priority to spend time outside soaking in its beautiful warmth and energy while walking along Lake Superior or sitting on my favorite park bench with a good book. And, although some here still fight the juxtaposition of the calendar month and actual real-weather-feel, my full length down coat is there for me regardless of what my mind tells me the temperature ought to be.

Today a short span of sunshine brightened what was otherwise a gray and dismal week and brought a lawn full of Dandelions to my attention. The Dandelion is thought of highly in healing circles for its liver cleansing greens and edible flowers, however, it is much maligned in lawn circles for its tenacity and propensity to overtake any available grassy area.

While I was pondering their bad rep, however, it occurred to me that Dandelions are FREE flowers. You don't have to buy them, you never have to plant them or replant them, and guaranteed they will appear on next year's lawn as well. Dandelions just keep popping up spreading sunshine. And I like sunshine, no matter what the thermometer reads.

Photo courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net