The long-awaited season, spring, has entered my hometown of Amherst, a college town in Massachusetts, the USA. The mornings begin with birds singing to greet the day. They don't forget to send in the goodnight notes before the sunset as well. Experiencing the seasonal changes is incredible, whether in America or another land on the Earth.
Nature can be beautiful, and it can be unpleasant. When the morning birds wake me before the alarm goes off, it's like the universe talking to me with happy notes. Those moments take away negative thoughts. For a second, the on-going pandemic or the news of a hurricane approaching the Gulf of Mexico is not on my mind. For the feathery friends, the mourning doves usually begin the day's orchestras, calling for their seasonal mating partners. When the mourning doves pause, robins start tweeting cheery notes. Between silence and the songs, life unfolds with its eternal games of beginnings and endings. The winter closed its doors, and spring came to the stage to take over the snow-covered world. As the days became warmer, the snow melted, allowing the seasonal plants to rehydrate in the cool water. In no time, the daffodils and the crocuses come up with colourful purple, white, or pink waves. While you are looking for the flowers on the ground, flocks of robins or blackbirds will come down on the grass and peck away on food that seems to hide under the grass still brown from the fading winter. At times, hawks or ravens zoom down to take on their share of food from the snowless ground. A couple of years back, I heard a hawk screech and was just in time to see it fly over my head with a snake dangling on its claws.
When eyes travel from the ground to the trees standing around, spring converses in more vibrant notes. Each tree moves at its own pace as it gets its spring adornment. Some have light green leaves, and others darker shades. The weeping willows have drooping branches that seem to be reaching for the perennials beneath them. And some cherry blossoms are in a tremendous hurry. As if fearful of missing on the short springtime, they have come out before the leaves. The sight of flowers is not the feast of human eyes only. The bees and butterflies take the stages as well. The trees standing tall with blossoms, fruits, or the smaller plants with the season's offerings have swarming insects feeding on their honey. If you were to take a walk in a park, garden, or forest, the life buzzing around is like a heaven come-down.
Moving onto the unfolding of spring, the humans fall into the magic of it all. Stepping out these days, I see men and women in their spring outfits. It feels so good to finally not have to grab hats, coats, gloves, and boots. Even though the facemask is still on, the weight of the dressing is lighter. It's that time of the year when the heels, dresses, and springy tops come out for the women. The Covid-19 has dampened the spirit, and celebrating the spring might be of more minor scales, but stepping into nature is as joyful as ever. When God closes one door, He is said to open a hundred others. We may feel stuck for the pandemic, but 2021 has perennials coming out earlier and in abundance. Look out through the window, and the sight of green spotted with thousands of colours cannot fail to lift your heart. In our backyard have large yellow daffodils in places where there were none over the past years. And around the new beds of perennials are rabbits and their bunnies frolicking as squirrels run and down the trees. There is a mesmerising festivity around the parks, homes. A sense of lightness that comes with the changing weather penetrates the minds, and one looks forward to the coming days. The virus is lingering, and we are fearful, but the vaccine is here as well. Perhaps we can walk and run like we used to do in the pre-pandemic days soon.
Spring cannot pass without the rebirth and renewal of life. When birds sing in the early hours of the morning, searching for potential mates, who knows how many human hearts fall into a similar space? We live forever with hopes of finding love. The word presents itself in the universe's language; Love gives us the strength to carry on when we are weary. It multiplies happiness when shared. While any season can bring love, spring comes with richer romance concepts, beauty, and universal love. However, we are witnessing spring in 2021; if we are breathing and in good health, we should thank our stars. After all, this is not a usual spring; it is awakening to the season with the wake-up call as to how life can get lost to a virus that we cannot see with our eyes. It is also a reminder that the Creator is invisible, and He is the giver and taker of life. Every moment of these strange times carries hopes that the 2022 spring can find the world free of Covid-19.
Tulip Chowdhury writes from Massachusetts, the USA.
