Finding a spring for your step
In March the wind blows down the door and spills my soup upon the floor. It laps it up and roars for more. Blowing once blowing twice blowing chicken soup with rice.
Soon March comes to a close and our calendars tell us that spring is here. And yet there are leftover snow mounds, ugly and messy, howling winds, and pouring rain. Where are the flowers? Where are the buds on the trees? Where is spring? Let’s go looking…
May I suggest a visit with the "citizens” of Mud Flat. Mud Flat Spring by James Stevenson begins and ends with Morgan, a grumpy, struggling to wake up, hibernating bear. No matter, Lois asks for directions south, impersonating a duck who has lost her way and Morgan goes back to sleep. While Morgan snoozes spring advances and retreats, delights and puzzles. Bentley tunnels up and accidently pushes up the first crocus. He must immediately try to satisfy Mrs. Huff and her chicks by replanting the crocus. When Parker and Zooty come along and discover this harbinger of spring, Bentley quickly takes credit for planting it only proving to his friends that he “has been down in the dark much too long.” Chapter 3, The Dance of Spring, is contagious. Fergus zigzags, Cheryl waves and twists, Norton throws off his cap and joins in. A “bunch” more join in for a dance marathon until Albert celebrates in his own way, by taking a nap under the nearest tree. Close by in the swamp, Mrs. Sandy proudly introduces her children to “The first important sign of spring.” What’s pretty green and red and smells good? Why it’s skunk cabbage of course! When a surprise snowstorm interrupts spring, the citizens of Mud Flat sled, skate, tunnel, and build snow rabbits. They remain undaunted. Morgan wakes up to snow and with the knowledge that spring has not arrived goes back to sleep. Burford and Malcolm close out the adventures with the optimism that spring will come again as soon as the snow melts. Take a trip to Mud Flat and delight in the wonders of nature.
Before the “greening of spring” what do we see? Brown, brown, and more brown. But along the way, the brown becomes a hopeful brown. and then it’s spring by Julie Fogliano with illustrations by Erin E. Stead is a powerful message of hopefulness and anticipation. In the all around brown a boy and his companions, who are somewhat unexpected and fascinating to observe, plant seeds, hope for and endure rain, check and check and check for signs of progress, and worry. If the seeds are in danger, maybe it was the birds, or maybe it was the bears and all that stomping, because bears can’t read signs that say things like “please do not stomp here — there are seeds and they are trying”. Another week passes and a greenish hum can be detected if you put your ear to the ground and close your eyes. A sunny day follows after a rainy one, there is the daily check for brown, but the brown isn’t around and now you have green, all around you have green. All this green can only mean, and then it’s spring.
In Turtle Spring by Deborah Turney Zagwyn, Clee’s journey to spring begins arduously in summer. She has a new baby brother and relatives come and go, but her new red-faced baby brother stayed for good. The relatives orbit the crib in admiration and Clee feels like a lost moon. Luckily for Clee, her Uncle Fishtank Hal knew all about lost moons. Uncle Fishtank Hal has brought Clee an unusual gift, “She’s a rebel with no cause, jumped tank one time too many. She ain’t a gift for a baby.” But, she is just right for Clee. Clee’s turtle, a Red-eared slider, promptly makes herself at home in the sandbox. Autumn advances, winter follows and the house was full of baby. And Clee is tugged awake by thoughts of forgetting something. She cannot find her turtle. Where has she gone and why did Clee not bring her inside? Clee finds her turtle hunkered down in the compost pile.
Sadly, Clee is convinced that her turtle will not survive the northern winter, but she has indeed found just the right spot. “There has never been a winter,” gloated the radio weatherman, “like this one.” But just remember that Clee’s turtle is a rebel. April brings crocuses and snowdrops to the sandbox. And oh the delight when a patchwork creature was inching its way down the compost slope. Clee’s brother is first to spy the turtle and he falls backward in laughter. It is a glorious ending. All have made it through the long winter with spring as their reward.
So find that spring for your step. Take a walk, look high and low, listen, and delight. Spring is on its way. Savor every moment as it is fleeting.
Quotations in this post are from primary sources listed and pictured.
