The pungent smell filled the room with a heady perfume, casting me back to my childhood and that house back the lane. Sweet purple flowers drooped from branches, calling to butterflies and hummingbirds. It is the beginning of warm weather. The rebirth of summer knocking on the door.

This time of the year I love to watch Oregon come alive with color. My son’s yard is a glorious array of lively inspiration. A small white butterfly flits across the yard. “Look, MeMe,” Emma yells. “It’s cookie! Cookie came back!” Yep, Cookie seemed to have returned. Well, not really but truly to a small girl and boy who called and waved to the little white butterfly last year. Not aware of the life span of butterflies, they were thrilled to see an old friend.

I was thrilled in the spring when Dad would come into the house with a yearly surprise. A big cocoon latched on to a twig was placed it in the backroom with Dad sometimes adding one or two more during the next week or so. Days would pass, and we would forget about the brown casing propped up in the backroom. Then one day he would call us. Huge cecropia moths would be flapping their wings stretching from their rest in their small sleeping bags. They spanned the width of Dad’s large hands. Creatures that seemed to have four huge eyes displayed beauty unrivaled. We knew Dad would set them free so that nature could once more renew herself.

Perhaps spring should be called Awakening. Flowers, newborn livestock, trees once more in leaf, grass that seems to grow faster after a winter’s sleep. The spirit awakens to the newness it remembers. The air is sweeter and a new vitality seems to affect every part of our lives.

There is another facet of spring that not everyone thinks of. As a child it meant that we would be taking more drives to just roam the countryside or go visit friends or relatives. We piled into the old, black Packard and headed off to adventure. It was not only adventure. Those times were wonderful family times. We all sang together and listened to Mom and Dad tell old stories or point out landmarks we had seen many times over the years. We later realized that these were the most intimate times we had with my parents. Dad’s tenor would begin, and we would all fall into our harmonies. It was as it would be in the summer, when once more we would fall into the routine of field work and chores creating a difference harmony. The harmony of a farm family. We didn’t mind. Winter had kept us inside. Spring called to us, and we answered with gusto.

I found a quote just for you, since your winter has been a very long one. Enjoy.

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush. – Don Larson