Spring comes and goes

Spring in Minnesota is a fickle thing, a tease, a come-hither wink and then a cold shoulder. Last week, I had the heat on in the house. Last night, after a hot and windy day, I slept with the air conditioner on in my bedroom. Tomorrow the high will be 55 degrees.

But despite the ups and downs and the winds and the heat and the cold, my garden is persevering. Only a week ago, it was a bare, monotone, skeleton-scape of last year's stalks and dead blossoms and leaves. Today, there was hope all around.

The old, giving way to the new.
These are "Angelique" tulips.
I hope the rabbits don't have them
for lunch before they bloom.

There was a kiss of green on all the bushes.

The bleeding hearts were leafing out.
In a few weeks, they'll hang their little
pink and white bloomers out on the line.

And some long-lost friends.
Crocuses I planted years ago,
making a welcome reappearance.

Bring it on, Mother Nature. Bring it on.