The end of winter in the South could care less about a calendar, or some official "first day of Spring" nonsense. This part of the country makes up her own mind about when to sound the all clear, and I thank God every day that she usually blows that whistle fairly early in the game.
A Saturday afternoon in Chester, South Carolina reminded me of that a couple of years ago as I was wrapping up a road trip. As I was passing by this lovely old house, circa 1898, the late afternoon light hit some very early traces of green that made my heart leap just a little bit. Those tree branches may have been bare, but the fresh handwriting was on the wall.
I suppose one could savor this month with Superbowl celebrations and hearts and flowers and even the Daytona 500 if you’re a NASCAR fan, but my favorite part of this month is the light. It bears witness to the fact that winter is fighting a losing battle that will be over sooner now than later - and that in itself is reason enough to put on my flip flops and throw a party.
Photo by Beth Yarbrough.
By minutes, each day now, sun rays are lasting longer,
My Arcadian rhythm I feel growing stronger;
Daffodils and Narcissus are blooming about ,
First hints of Spring here in the South.
Teasers sometimes, though they may be,
I still love their appearance and all hints I see.
We had our week of winter about 3 weeks ago, and now it’s spring on Hilton Head Island!