The Edge of Spring

To those of you in colder climes, I'm here to tell you, Spring is on the move.

Here in South Central Texas, in the lovely Hill Country, we are daily seeing evidence of the edges of her robe. This morning a male white wing dove was courting a fair lady. A sparrow was seen with nesting material. A pregnant squirrel has been raiding the bird feeder for the last week. The blue bonnets on the back of our property have formed large mounds, a promise of flowers soon to come. After two years of one of the most severe droughts on the books, gentle rains have softened the earth and raised the water level of the Guadeloupe River.

Soon the mallards and pintails will leave this, their winter abode, and head north. Soon, perhaps as soon as this coming week, the first ruby throated hummingbirds will arrive and we will put out sugar water for them, food for the hungry travelers. Soon wild flowers along the interstate, a gift from Lady Bird Johnson, will delight the eye with their swaths of color; blue, red, yellow, orange.

Soon my dears. She's on her way. The edge of Spring is here.