Nearing Spring... Last of Winter.

Not the sun or the summer alone, but every hour and season yields its tribute of delight; for every hour and change corresponds to and authorizes a different state of the mind, from breathless noon to grimmest midnight.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am amazed at every season's change, I anticipate it. At the end of the summer I cannot wait for the season to cool our steamy, un-air-conditioned apartment. At the end of winter I actually look forward to that unruly hot summer.

Not only temperature changes, but other things as well:

The summer gets us thinking about vacations and fun, trips to the beach, being outside. The days are long, and even the nights are warm.

As we enter into fall, it is harvest, the vegetables change to sweet potatoes and pumpkins, we get ready for Thanksgiving, it is the beginning of the holiday season, the days begin to get shorter.

Into winter, the days are at their shortest, it begins to get cold (well, a California version of cold in my case). We imagine cuddling up at night drinking tea by the fire. The mountains are crowned with white. The holidays are in full swing. Some snowboard, ski, visit a cabin or play in the snow.

By the end of winter, spring is a relief. New life begins to grow. It is the time to start gardens, farmers markets are full of fruits and vegetables. The air is cleaner, the sky clearer. The birds are noticeably louder.

At the beginning of each season I enter in thinking: No, THIS is my favorite season. Winter is almost over, and spring is almost here (March 20th) and I am thinking: Spring is my favorite season.