Rainy Day Monday

Not getting me down. For some reason I don't mind the rain today. It actually makes me smile and feel all warm and giddy inside like being in love--or maybe like being befuddled by someone new. Sometimes it's nice to lose the horizon-- let the pavement and sky bleed into one. I think today's rain is just different. It's March rain.

Unlike January or February rain which plink into icy pools, March rain starts to feed the earth in preparation for Spring. Yesterday's temps reached sixty-something. The sun shone radiantly and my step instructor bored me so I hit the road for a walk/run. (aside: my knees hate me, a lot)

I saw robins. Growing up I learned that robin-red-breasts were a sure sign of Spring. However, here in Nashville I've been seeing droves of robins since January. I guess this is where they hang until Spring in Wisconsin--which can be as late as the end of April or middle of May (it can even plunge to 40s or 50s in June evenings). Not here though. Here it's practically Spring in February. My face even got a sunburn on New Year's Eve. Yesterday, however, yesterday I saw a true sign of the nearing springtime. You see, the trees are different. Not incredibly noticeable. Not pains-takingly obvious. It's a subtle difference, one you have to get up close to note. On branch ends and interspersed along the shafts, in the shade of bark, velvety soft buds have begun their worldly emergence.

You can't have grass and flowers and healthy, blossoming spring plant life without rain. Today's rain should give them some needed nourishment. That makes me happy. And giddy. And somewhat amorous, even amidst the grey.