I know that sometimes it can be brown and slushy and mucky and muddy, but spring is my favourite season.

All that new growth! Rebirth!

I get excited about new buds on the trees and the narcissus and crocuses and snowdrops poking their little green leaves out of the ground.

Everyone is full of hope for a season of warmth, eager to put winter behind them.

These days, since the weather has been so unseasonably warm, I have caught the “bug” of spring. Perhaps this is not universal to everyone, but for me, the spring “bug” gets under my skin and burrows into my psyche, so that everywhere I look, I see reminders of spring. I smell hints of it. I hear strains of bird song or other sounds that point towards spring.

Even in windowless, basement rooms, I will see the colour of someone’s shirt or catch a whiff of their shampoo and think: “Spring is coming!”

Each morning, I am excited to look for new signs of spring: flowers popping out of the earth, the disappearance of the snow (not difficult this year), the reminder that there are only a few weeks of class left, talk of summer jobs…

Ahhh. There is nothing quite like the smell of a world coming to life again after being covered (at least off and on) with snow and cold for a few months! Do you smell it? Spring!!