Dear Editor:
March 21 has come and gone. The calendar has signaled that spring has sprung, but there is no spring in our collective step for those time-tested signs of spring lay hidden beneath banks of snow.
The peoples of the Northern Hemisphere and, in particular, those whose home is in Alberta, Canada, have awaited spring’s arrival with bated breath. Would that our collective breath remain unseen in the still dreary frigid mornings as we dutifully, ruefully scrape the thick coat of frost from our cars’ windshields while still wearing our thick winter coats.
Where is spring? Where are the crocuses whose purple promise beckons our renewal of spirit as tender shoots peak courageously through a bed of melting snow? There is no hint of the colour purple, nor is there sighting of returning robins. Even rabbits have spurned brown fur coats, preferring winter white. Again, the question resounds, where is spring?
The answer, my friend may, indeed, rest in the blowin’ of the wind, alas, the north wind, its author being none other than Old Man Winter himself, the usual suspect. In his malevolent maniacal way, Old Man Winter has kept spring at bay. His craggy grip over earthly northern dwellers causes them to shiver and shake their fist at his mythical impenetrable dominance.
Old Man Winter doesn’t give up easily. He enjoys seeing his subjects hoping against hope that today will be the day that the magnificence of spring reveals itself. In return, we shall revel in its warm glow with reverie, revelry and joy. Then, despairing of winter’s hold, we realize that, once again, the snow falls and the north wind blows. Our hearts sink.
Innately, we know that Old Man Winter’s blast won’t last. Spring will come, triumphant in its certainty. All will know of spring’s arrival as the familiar purple hue of crocuses burst forth, rabbits cast off white coats for their fashionably late brown Spring coats and the song of the Red Red Robin is heard on air. Our hearts soar. Winter is o’er. Spring is here once more.
Myra Sieben (nee) Archibald
Calgary (formerly Stettler resident)