Happy first day of spring!

My friends and I went to the beach, as we do every first day of spring, to see the sunrise. The sky was spectacular colored as it was in the deepest pinks and reds in bands over the jetty. The low tide was lower than I can ever remember. The ocean was so still it could have been a lake on a warm summer morning. We heard seagulls squawking as they flew over. It was cold but bearable as there was no wind. The sand was rock hard as we neared the ocean. We watched the top arc of the sun appear over the rocks. It was huge and the brightest of yellows. We stayed until the sun had totally risen awing at its color and beauty and taking pictures all the while, but then the cold finally got to us. We went to the car where we sang our traditional welcoming songs to spring, Morning Has Broken and The Red, Red Robin. We finished our first day of spring festivities with breakfast and hot cups of coffee to warm the innards. It was a most wonderful morning.

I went back to bed for a couple of hours when I got home. When I woke up, the sky was grey and the sun had disappeared, probably exhausted from its spectacular entrance this morning. I thought how lucky I had been to see the sunrise and to see those colors framed by the blue sky and a few puffy clouds.

We will be having some snow tonight. It seems Old Man Winter is being recalcitrant and continuing to overstay his welcome. It is well past his time to pack up and leave, but he refuses and still lingers, cursed and unwanted. Leave, Old Man Winter, leave. Spring is here and welcomed with open arms.