RevGals Friday Five: Signs of Spring

My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. (Song of Solomon 2:10-13, NRSV)

Songbird at RevGals writes: In the late, late winter, as the snow begins to recede here in Maine, we begin to look almost desperately for signs of spring, signs of hope that the weather has turned and a new day is on the horizon. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Easter and Spring twine inextricably, the crocuses and daffodils peeking through the Earth as we await the risen Christ.

Share with us five signs of hope that you can see today or have experienced in the past.

1. I’ve seen daffodils. Here they aren’t just peeking through but are in full flower. Nothing says spring like daffodils. They are such bright and happy flowers, smiling flowers.
2. Our lawn is covered with flowering weeds. Yep, weeds. But the girls don’t care if they’re weeds. All they see is a carpet of tiny purple flowers. I felt the same when I was young. I would pick the flowers and put them in my hair or bring them in to my mom.
3. Light, so much light. Light that stretches further into the evening. Light that is still soft, unlike the harsh light of summer.
4. Easter baskets. I know that it’s very commercial and not at all relevant to the real meaning of Easter, but I love going into stores and seeing the racks of Easter candy (especially the jelly beans!) and the baskets. Yes, the baskets have ballooned into elaborate constructions with toys galore, but I still enjoy them. I love the colored cellophane and grass, and now the baskets themselves are so varied and pretty.
5. The sounds of children playing outdoors. They’ve been let loose! Our neighbors have a wooden play set outside, and now we hear the kids as they climb, slide and swing. Yesterday I found a notice that the exterminator had been by – hopefully we can get rid of the fire ants in our yard.