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A weekend of sunny, warm weather can make us soon forget that calendars can be deceptive critters. Here it is several weeks into so-called spring, which according to astrological definition begins on the Vernal Equinox, and we’ve had little of it. The past three days have shown what a little sunshine and warm weather can do for our souls. Considering the economy, and the extended winter, it’s clear that we can all use a lot more sunshine and warmth in our lives.
So, please, Mother Nature, bring on the glories of spring. Geese honking their way north. Daffodils blooming. Hawks doing aerobatics. Heat that warms the body through and through.
Spring is a season of rebirth, and what better time to contemplate its joys than the week of Easter. The lengthening daylight beckons. The natural world offers many delights. Newborn calves, lambs and fawns frolic in meadows. Meadowlarks, the state bird of Oregon, sing spring’s praises from perches on fenceposts. Bald eagles ride the thermal wind currents.
After yet another snowier and rainier than average winter, residents of Northeast Oregon are hankering to plant a garden. They’re looking forward to brightening their home acreage with pansies, geraniums and daffodils. They’re watching the snow recede on Mount Emily with a careful eye toward the last hard frost.
Of course, it could be worse. We could live in Fargo, N.D., where severe floods and ice jams seem to be an annual curse. We could live in a tornado alley in Oklahoma or Kansas and be keeping a close eye on our own personal Toto so the vulnerable canine friend doesn’t get swept away in a twister. We could be wearing a target in the path of supercell thunderstorms. We are fortunate to live in the mild, mild West and not places where diabolical weather is a given.
And of course, we don’t want rapid snowmelt and damaging floods. The gradual warming of spring typically seen in Northeast Oregon is ideal for maintaining snow coverage in the mountains, which means good irrigation for farmers and ranchers all summer. Of course, after last year’s colder than average spring, we are not looking forward to a similar forecast this year. But we are from hardy pioneer stock. We will endure.
It’s time for the world to spring forth. Gradually. A day and a degree at a time. The warmth, the new growth, the hard-charging rapids and the blossoming lilacs can’t come soon enough considering what we’ve come through. Bring on the riches of spring.
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Opinion 
