Hmmm, how much longer until I hear that strident piping that promises the turn of the seasons?
Confession: I hate The Weather Network website for a very unjust reason – because it so often delivers bad news. I cringe every time I log on and see that red Special Weather Statement which is happening with maddening regularly in this nasty winter we are battling through.
On a more positive note, we are less than one month away from the official first day of spring for 2019, although Mother Nature does not pay much heed to our arbitrary season dates. She usually makes us wait into mid-April before she coaxes Old Man Winter to retire for the year.
So, if the calendar and Mother Nature do not agree on the start of spring, what marker should we use? The appearance of the first Robin? Alas, as a birdwatcher, I must caution you that many Robins now overwinter in this area and are therefore not a reliable indicator.
My harbinger of spring is the strident kill-deeah, kil-deeah, dee-dee-dee of the Killdeer. It is one of the earliest migrants to arrive on spring breezes. When I hear its distinctive call, my spirit lifts, I breathe deeply and the weight of winter begins to lift off my soul.
No, I have not heard a Killdeer yet and do not expect to for at least a few weeks. But I know when I do it will be the random act of metaphor that encourages me, the temperamental bear who grumbles through winter, to emerge from my hibernation, lace up my hiking boots and hit the trails again.
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~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
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Tags: first day of spring · Killdeer · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Mother NatureNo Comments