There perhaps has never been a spring as welcome as this one - and the fact that the last several days have featured major blasts of sunshine is just icing on the cake. For this week's "It's Happening," I offer a reprise of a blog I wrote a year ago; a day I was immersed in the glorious happenings of a true spring day. Enjoy your post-holiday Monday: 

 

 

I was lying on the dock, wrapped in a quilt, listening to the birds and the bullfrogs.

My fishing line was in the water, but I was half paying attention to the bobber. I was more intrigued by flipping the pages of my book and watching the previously robin egg-colored sky turn a slightly darker shade of blue.

In a moment of sheer relaxation, I had dozed off a little, totally absorbed in the springtime evening and realizing how much I had missed all of this during the colder, intermittently snowy months.

I was snapped back to reality when I heard my son Jacob’s line whip across the pond and soon to follow was the familiar, most appreciated sound of a fish slapping against the water’s surface. This one was a bluegill, a little overstuffed and oversized. I laughed, thinking it, too, must have experienced a longer than usual winter.

The whole day had been like a reunion with simple rural springtime pleasures. There was hiking and flower picking, feeding horses on the hilltop and calling the cows. Well, they never did come. But we sure tried.

My granddaughter’s fist full of forget-me-nots and contagious giggle made it all the more sweet. Because we stopped frequently along the trails to stack rocks or gather acorns, it took us a while to make the return trip. Frequently whizzing by on his dirt bike, Jake was killing two birds with one stone: He was getting his riding fix and maybe checking on us -  just a little.

Back at Andrew and Brittany's  homestead, there was chicken coop building underway, the carpenter none other than my preacher husband. The progress was an ongoing story throughout the day. Finally, the chicks – just tiny yellow fluffs of fur four short weeks ago – moved into their new digs. Their first true frolic with the great outdoors, the little red “henlets” fought over an earthworm. They also took their wings for a test fly.

Although for me, it was a total day of play, a little rest time in the sun was in order. I stretched out that quilt – pieced together some 30 years ago by my mom and grandma – and opened up a box of markers, stickers and paper. Della and I illustrated scenes from the day – from mud pies to purple violets; nestled deer to dandelions.

It was a good day; a simple day, but one mastered by God’s hand. Maybe He prolonged the winter so we’d truly appreciate his pre-summer handiwork.

Sometimes our happy place is the very place we are.

 

Julie Perine can be reached at 304-848-7200 or julie@connect-bridgeport.com or follow @JuliePerine on Twitter!

 

More "It's Happening" HERE.