Awakening from winter

We appear to have turned the proverbial corner from winter to spring. It was not a straight-line trajectory, but it was a snowstorm followed by a warm up and then a cycle of repeat a few times. My attention has been on other things the past few months, and my photography has taken a back seat to those concerns. But it’s never far from my mind, and when I’m “out in the world” and a scene presents itself to me, it sometimes cannot be ignored.

This was the case this past Easter morning. The world was quiet and still before dawn. The air was cold as the temperatures had dropped below freezing overnight. Yet there was the promise of warmth from the sun. I watched as the eastern horizon slowly awakened to the most beautiful shades of blue, rose, and gold. As the light started to glow, there was a cacophony of sounds – turkeys gobbling across the opposite shore, Canada geese honking in the bay to the south, and ducks quacking as they flew towards the shore and then swept back into the air. It was as if a chorus was announcing the arrival of Easter and of spring. And maybe this was the final turning from winter to spring.

Ahh…spring

And just like that, spring is here.  We’ve gone from brown to green within one week.  Some spring rain showers, bright sunshine, and warm temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s have caused spring to burst forth in Minnesota.  Grass is now green, and the trees and shrubs are bursting with their leaf buds.  Green shoots are visible from the warming soil, and I have even seen some daffodils that are blooming.  Our lilac bush has opened its tight buds into the warm air.  And luckily the snowfall predicted for this weekend did not appear.  Quickly our landscape will continue to change.