Warm gusts of spring
"The air and the earth interpenetrated in the warm gusts of spring; the soil was full of sunlight, and the sunlight full of red dust. The air one breathed was saturated with earthy smells, and the grass under foot had a reflection of the blue sky in it."
- Willa Cather
As we finish up this week of school, all of us look forward to the upcoming Spring Break and taking some time to shake off winter and welcome the warm season. This is a great opportunity to visit the CMH campus and surrounding trails to see the quiet fresh beauty of early spring. Breathe in the cool air and smell the newly thawed soil that is dotted with puddles. Listen to the call of peepers, chorus frogs, and soon the American Toad that reaches to your ears from the ponds and vernal pools. Gaze at tree buds that seem to swell and unfold before your eyes, of dogwood, pawpaw, hickory, sassafras, and apple. Watch wrens, titmice, mockingbirds, and cardinals, grab at pine needles, last years leaves, and dried grasses, to take to their nest-building sites.
Enjoy the best of this fresh season, the earthy smells, and the return of green grass.
~ Veronica Brannen, CMH Naturalist
