Spring is the Season for Newness

Sunlight has an almost magical effect on the body and spirit.  As the days start to get longer, my attitude dramatically improves. Just as the earth awakens and animals come out of hibernation, so does my energy. I feel like I can take on new challenges again and things that seemed impossible in the darkness appear more hopeful in the light. It almost seems like April 1st should be the beginning of the new year and the time to make resolutions. They might have a chance at sticking, unlike the lull that I feel at the end of the holiday season on January 1st. In spring, there’s new things happening all around and it makes me feel new too.

Flowers in bloom were the first thing I noticed this year when the seasons started to change, almost as if they were saying, “hang on! The sunshine is right around the corner!”

The trees are waking up, putting out new leaves and a blossom show. Now is the time to get the garden unbuttoned from winter and start some seeds. I have a try in my kitchen window seeds that need a warmer germination temperature, like tomatoes and peppers. They seem to be starting out strong. I’m already dreaming about eating fresh tomatoes right out of the garden. Then outside, I’m experimenting with empty milk jugs that I fashioned into miniature greenhouses. So far I have cabbage, spinach, lettuce, and broccoli sprouting. It will be interesting to see how this works out.

Spring is the time of year when people line up at the farm store to purchase chicks. There are a few other springtime milestones with chickens besides new babies. Mature chickens go through molt in the winter. Their feathers fall out and they start to look ragged. By the time spring arrives, their feathers have grown back and they are looking beautiful again. 

Chickens also need a lot of light to lay eggs which means production slows down in the winter. A light in the coop can help with this, but we have chosen not to put one in. The longer days now mean we are getting a full egg count again.

We should have calves on the ground any day now. Last year we had one born on April 1st and at first I thought my husband was fooling me. He called me at work to let me know, and I didn’t believe him at first! It will be interesting see what our calves look like this spring. The neighbor’s Black Angus bull jumped the fence last summer a few days before the Hereford bull was dropped off as planned. We’ll see what comes out!

Check out these other blog posts written with the theme of “new” in mind:

Something Old Something New by Lori Shoaf

https://www.lorishoaf.com/inspiringstories/something-old-something-new

Celebrating the New of Today and Every Day by Dianne Vielhuber

https://simplewordsoffaith.com/2022/04/01/celebrating-the-new-of-today-and-every-day/

Confessions of an Evacuee: The Messy Middle Between Unexpectedly Leaving Home in Ukraine and a New Start by Ashley Olivine

https://www.ashleyolivine.com/confessions-of-an-evacuee/