March always brings me to a sense of eager anticipation. Snow piles ever deeper as one of the winter’s last storms makes its way through the heartland. A frigid wind builds drifts higher and higher. Will winter ever end?

Despite this good old fashioned snowstorm, the signs of winter’s demise have been on the increase. The days grow noticeably longer. The stronger rays of the sun melt snow off south facing surfaces more easily. Male wild turkeys are beginning to fan tail feathers to show off for the hens. The pulse of spring quickens with each passing day.

The average high temperatures are now creeping into the upper 30’s. Sunny days will rapidly melt the snow drifts that are growing as I write. Inside an unheated greenhouse the temperature shoots up to the sixty plus degrees within minutes when the sun emerges from behind a cloud. One by one we are filling those greenhouses with hundreds of varieties of flowering plants that will delight the eye and beautify landscapes throughout our communities. Thermostats will still call for heat on chilly nights to keep plants happy, but the nights become shorter and shorter.

The pulse of the spring quickens in other ways. Soon sap will be flowing in some tree varieties, causing buds to swell, and for certain hard working entrepreneurs, maple syrup will be one of the first crops to come off our fertile lands. Owls are nesting and gold finches showing the first signs of more gold color in their plumage.

I thank God for the four seasons. Every season has its own special magic. There are always wonderful things to await in eager anticipation.

For me personally, spring is the most amazing season. From a seemingly dead landscape we are treated to an explosion of new life every spring. It’s like being reborn again and again, year after year.

Listen closely. The pulse quickens. Nature awakens. Our spirits grow hopeful. Renewal is at hand.