It’s Saturday, March 29. I’ve opened my eyes to the early bloomers and their emerging insect and animal friends. While I’ve been watching new plant growth push through the soil (still under fall leaf debris) for a couple of weeks now — all of us weathering dramatic shifts in temperature, of course — it’s so thrilling to watch nature wake up. Even the neighborhood birds are starting to fly around, chirping and pecking to their hearts’ content.

The garden is coming back to life, and it’s raising my spirits along with it. I’m a different person when the garden sleeps; while I see the value in “wintering,” it feels really good to know that soon I can play outside with the plants and pollinators, spy on the squirrels and tiny chipmunks, baby-talk to the rabbits, and chat with my cats through the screened windows. Oh, and most certainly annoy my family and neighbors while doing so!

The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size. – Gertrude S. Wister