Dear Spring in Sweden,
Whatever you’re on, I want some. You’re lit up like a house on fire. Oh wait, that’s just the forsythia. I don’t think we’ve ever, EVER, had this many sunny days in a row and every morning when I wake up and look out the window to see what the weather is like, my heart skips a beat and I rise, amazed, feeling light as air, that the sun is up, the sky is blue, the birds are singing and it’s going to be ANOTHER beautiful day.
Yesterday, I went out and laid on the trampoline and got my hair and my clothes all full of static electricity. It was late afternoon, I don’t remember exactly what time. Karin was at a friend’s house, Anders was out bicycling, Martin would shortly join me in the sunshine, but for the moment I was simply lying in the light with my bare feet caressed by stray breezes. I shut my eyes and watched the back of my eyelids gyrate through lightning sparks and color spectrums that left me gasping with how VERY RED red can be.
With your eyes shut, Spring does a magical number on your ears. I could hear children playing two yards over, a metallic ding as something was bumped repeatedly by the wind into something else, crows querulously arguing, jackdaws screeching, songbirds warbling and at least 2 wood pigeons cooing in the pine trees. I heard a pheasant squawk somewhere not too far away. Once in a while leaves rustled, grass rustled, everything rustled as the breezes shuffled the air about. You could almost hear things GROWING. And then a heavy lumbering buzz—low-flying bumblebees the size of my thumb, sturdily zooming past on their way about their business.
Daffodils dot every bed and border, the magnolia trees are lifting their cream-and-pink-colored lamps. Along the pear allé, those old scraggly trees are working hard on their bright white blossoms: not quite yet, but soon! The bird cherry across the ditch is full of promise: it’s going to burst at any moment. Everything, everywhere is going green, green, GREEN.
I rolled over and sat up on the trampoline, feeling the movement of the bounce beneath me. From the corner of my eye, across the pasture in the newly-turned rapeseed field, something moved. The horses are gone; our farmer neighbor has apparently moved out: the ducks & geese have disappeared and the herd of yappy dogs with them. It wasn’t horse or pony, it moved too quickly and kept to the edge of the fence: deer! Little tiny deer, so small that Martin thought for a moment they were the big hares that lollop across the yard when they think no one is looking.
Really, Spring, you’re out-doing yourself. Save some for summer. But bring on the lilacs!
All my love,
Lizardek
***
And some silliness
Liz: Martin! Karin! Time for Bread!
Martin & Karin: Huh?
Liz: BED! I meant BED!
Liz: *chases Martin up the ladder into his bed* Sourdough! Rye! Pumpernickel! Whole wheat!
Martin: You are so weird.
Liz: Good night! Sleep tight! See you in the morning!
Martin: Good night! Sleep tight! See you in the morning!
Liz: I love you! NO! Wait! I LOAF YOU! Get it? Loaf? hahahaaa!!
Martin: *rolls eyes*
Liz: *giggles madly*
***
Brimming Barrels of Belated Birthday Wishes to jackiejj, blue_eyed_girl and Meg!