After a cold, dark winter of gray-brown dormancy, the earth barely breathing, waiting faithfully for renewal and warmth that certainly must come, spring starts slowly; then quickly, it becomes a rushing torrent of life. Brought on by moisture and warmth, the wild exuberance of shoots pushing out from beneath leaf mold, unfolding leaves and birdsong, it is the hallelujah chorus of spring.
I find the coming of spring such a joyous time for the soul. It is rebirth after death, redemption after a trial that has pulled energy from one’s core.
On a day like today, dry and sunny, not a cloud in the sky and the temperature in the low 70s, life seems just about perfect. I walk at least a foot off the ground, treading on air.
And speaking of air, it is so fresh, smelling of earth and newly formed oxygen flowing from the vivid green grass and millions of tiny green leaves that are expanding throughout the land. 
My lawn is a mass of purple and white violets, dotted with golden dandelion suns and naturalized narcissi. Gil-over-the-ground, ajuga, and wild veronica are budded up and starting to bloom in shades of blue-violet. Sprigs of June aster are forming, to come along in the next few weeks.
The gardens are masses of frothy candytuft, daffodils, diminutive iris, bleeding hearts and primroses. 
Fothergilla has started to bloom and is covered with tiny, native pollinators and the Korean spicebush viburnum perfumes the yard with its exotic fragrance. The lilac flower buds are swelling, as are the rhododendron, beauty soon to come.
The hummingbird has returned and visits the quince, spicebush and bleeding hearts. Chipping sparrows are making a nest in the quince and I watch one pecking at ants along the sidewalk. Catbirds, as well as a pair of cardinals, are nesting in the hemlock hedge and eastern phoebes have set up housekeeping in the wood shed.
In the woods, hairy woodpeckers drum on dead wood, telegraphing their territory throughout the forest. Ovenbirds, titmice and chestnut-sided warblers call to establish the same end. We still have a bird feeder strung high in an oak tree, which brings in chickadees and a multitude of goldfinches, whose mewling calls fill the air.
Cardinals and mourning doves flutter in to feed on the ground below the feeder, while the male doves persistently coo in the branches above. Any perceived danger is escaped with an explosion of wings.
I take it all in as I move about the yard, gardening, hanging laundry or sitting on the deck. I feel grateful to witness this exuberance of life that living in the country affords, such a blessing it is.
Eliza Waters 
You’re living in paradise! Of course, it just happens that you know because you look.
That I do! Thank you, Lisa. 🙂
What a wonderland you live in. Balm for the soul after along hard Winter
Thank you, Maureen. It does feel like a wonderland and what a gift after a long winter!
Beautiful presentation of pictures and words. Glorious!
Thank you, Dennis!
I think your gardens are making their 4th and 5th curtain call for this celebration.
Nice!
Thank you kindly! They are just gearing up. The big show is always near June with peonies, lilacs, columbine (I could go on and on!) I love it when everything is fresh and new and nothing has been nibbled or succumbed to mold or the many other things that happen to plants. It helps if I tell myself that everything is food, sooner or later.
Same explosion here in IA. It happens so fast. I try to get out for a walk each day to see the changes.
Your gardens are beautiful.
Thank you so much, Jim. It does just explode, esp. if we get a warm spell. It’s an amazing transformation!
Beautiful
Thank you, Tosha.
You’re welcome
Such amazing color!! I love all your flowers and plants. I love the picture of the unfurling fern frond and also how the male cardinal is looking at the female. Soooo cute! Hallelujah indeed!
Thank you, Mary. It is such a special time of year!
It’s a lovely way to describe the unfurling of spring. Lovely photos, too, Eliza. I am impressed with the first one especially. Happy spring to you!
Thank you very much, Cynthia!
Lovely pics Eliza! The weather has been fantastic here too. It’s so hard to concentrate on work! Cheers, Nataly
Thank you, Nataly. When the weather is so nice, it hard to do anything but walk about in it!
Spring is such a wonderful time of year, I can just imagine how you feel, beautiful words and images!
Thank you, Karen!
You always give us a bit of paradise! 🙂
Glad to share! 🙂
Marvellous display!
Thank you, Belinda. 🙂
There is that moment in spring when everything takes off and your heart grows too big for your chest. I know it too but, here in SoCal, it usually occurs in February. Enjoy it!
Thank you, Kris. That is a perfect description – you feel fit to burst!
Your words and pictures beautifully capture the joys of Spring. I love the colourful picture looking across your lawn.
Thank you very much, Brian. I love my lawn and am loathe to mow it!
I just love your (colorful) lawn, what a beautiful garden you have, yes… you are blessed!
Thank you, Noortje!
Lovely pictures with beautifully written description of the arrival of spring. Wonderful lawn
Thank you very much, Derrick.
Nature is wonderful, but not everyone has eyes that see it.
And that is a crying shame, for it is upon her that we depend.
Breathtakingly beautiful.
Thank you, Sylvia!
Hallelujah is right. 🙂
Yes, m’am! 😀
We are experiencing the same exuberance here in Maine. It makes me want to dance! A hummingbird returned yesterday and our phoebe is nesting in our tractor enclosure. When I was growing up, my mother always planted a Korean spicebush viburnum (“The Carlesii”-sounds like it’s from Game of Thrones) right outside our front door so that we would get hit with the scent coming and going. I would like to do the same here. I heard that there was some pest hitting the viburnums in New England. Have you had any problems with yours?
Yes, unfortunately, I have lost my native viburnums to a European beetle that kills them outright within two seasons. info: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/beetles/viburnum_leaf_beetle.htm
Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to bother with fuzzy-leaved viburnums like V. carlesii and V. plicatum f. tomentosum, which may not be native, but they sure are beautiful. I love that your mom planted V. carlesii near her front door. A woman after my own heart!
Thanks. I have a soft spot for the carlesii, so will be on the lookout to buy one. I am not sure why my mother loved the spicebush so much–most of her plant choices were rather dull and practical. It’s an odd quirk that doesn’t seem to really fit her, but what do we really know of other people?
Very true, esp. those close to us! 😉
Wonderful post, wonderful pictures! Loved seeing the goings-on in your yard.
Thank you, Laurie!
So much beauty Eliza! Those first warm days of spring when the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and green finally appears are what make winter bearable!
Thank you, Stephanie. Spring does feel like a great reward for putting up with winter!
Oh, I just “feel” this post Eliza! Yesterday I forego my duties at the Park and spent the entire afternoon up to 7pm in my garden! A baltimore oriole visited my hummingbird feeder as did the hummingbird and rose breasted grosbeaks are passing through. It was the best day ever! I planted some perennials, weeded, pruned, mulched … still trying to clean up all the beds, still not done but I liken it to “savoring spring.” I try my best not to feel pressured or rushed. I even moved some of my “seedlings” (now huge) to the greenhouse. Glorious! I had to look up a few of these flowers you mentioned – not sure I really know what june aster is – not satisfied with the google results. I have ground ivy everywhere and I must say I do appreciate its tiny violet blooms this time of year among the violets and forget-me-nots. I am so happy that you live in paradise and hey, thanks for sharing it!
Sounds like you had a great day in the garden yesterday. I love getting lost in garden work and sometimes have to be reminded to come inside for a break!
Originally I had listed the Latin names of flowers in my post, but I deleted them because I thought they ‘weighed down’ the feeling I wanted to convey. What I refer to as June aster is also known as Robin’s Plaintain (Erigeron pulchellus). Sorry for the confusion and fruitless google search! I appreciate you letting me know that you enjoyed the post. As a fellow gardener, I know you share that spring enthusiasm. 🙂
OH for the burst of Spring of LIFE!!! Wonderful photography, Eliza! How glorious Spring is!! ❤
Thank you, Amy. Spring is awesome. I hope you got some rain today!
Lots last night with more on the way. Only thing, the temp has dropped. 😦 I am hearing the snow word for tomorrow night. Good grief!!! 😦
Oh, dear, I hope the forecasters are very wrong!
So do I, Eliza.
How wonderful Eliza, a piece of paradise you’ve got there.
Thank you, Dorris. It feels like paradise to me!
such a sweet little red bird, is it a cardinal?
It is a male cardinal and his charming, more quietly plumed mate. They produce the cutest, fuzzy-headed fledglings.
Spring has arrived at last! I am so happy for you Eliza. They way you describe your garden is beautiful as are your photos… as always!
Thank you very much, Gillian!
Your spring garden is absolutely glorious Eliza, flowers and all! 🙂
Thank you, Cathy! Spring is glorious.
That fiddlehead looks like a just born calf.
Now that is a farm girl comment if I ever heard one! I had to look again and then I saw it, the fuzzy covering. 🙂 Thanks, Lisa!
Yup!
🙂
How lovely. ❤
Thank you, Gigi.
I would just love to sit on one of those wooden chairs and admire your lawn – how fabulous it looks.
Thank you, you’d be welcome! If you ever cross the pond, I hope you visit. 🙂
Beautiful garden filled with lovely plants.
Thank you!
Very nicely written. there’s just so much color. Those ferns are so perfect.
Thank you, Maria. 🙂
I can feel the energy! What a lovely lawn to admire from those chairs. Not heard ground ivy called Gil-over-the-ground before.
Thanks, Allison. Common names are so varied, aren’t they? Latin has its purpose!
I love your lawn!! It’s a gorgeous riot of spring colors. I think Lisa is right. You live in paradise. 🙂
Thank you, Robin. I have to agree, 😉 and can you see why I refuse to mow? 😀
I wouldn’t mow that either! 😀 Our lawn in NE Ohio had similar colors and flowers so we put off mowing for as long as possible. We didn’t have tick problems there so that also made a difference. Now that I think about it, I don’t think I ever saw a tick while we lived there.
We didn’t know how good we had it back then – tick-free living. Now, even with constant vigilance, I still get bit. It is like a nightmare. Most of the time, I accept and manage (there is no other viable choice), but if I stop and think about it, I risk losing it! “Don’t think about it – go about your day, focus on the good stuff!” 😉
Makes winter look better and better… 😦
Reblogged this on A Dose of Inspiration and commented:
Beautiful photos & words! I love the changing of the seasons and am so happy when Spring blossoms each year. It’s so beautiful with all the color and life around and the seemingly endless sunshine. It’s inspiring. I love being reminded of beginnings & rebirth. Thank You for sharing!! 😀 ❤
Thank you very much, Kim! ❤
beautiful series
Thank you kindly!
Seems like heaven! So glad spring has finally come. But you’ve painted such a good picture of it, I think I can live vicariously through you (since it is only 50 degrees and rainy in Vienna right now).
Thank you, much appreciated. 🙂
Vienna, even in the rain, sounds pretty good. Have one of those incredible pastries for me! ❤
I had pastries for lunch, ha! Trying to make use of every calorie of the day. 😉
🙂
Your garden looks like a magical place to be in what ever the season!
Thank you, but spring is my favorite by far!