As the seasons change throughout the year, there are certain things I love about each of them. The Summer brings warm days, fun at the local pool or in the river or lake, and the night brings bonfires and camping with friends. All of these days are filled with swimming, fun in the outdoors and laughing with friends and family. In Autumn, when the leaves change, I am amazed by the array of colors that the leaves show. In Winter, after a fresh snowfall, the unbroken blanket of white, sparkling snow is just beautiful. It almost dampens many sounds as well, as if you have your own little world to yourself. But there is one season that I have chosen as my favorite, and that is Spring.

Spring is, in my opinion, the best season there is. Right after the cold of Winter, everything is just beginning to wake up and turn from brown to green, and it’s like a rebirth of the beautiful thing we call nature. Mother Nature has had her beauty rest and is ready to wake up and show us what she can do.

Of the different aspects of Spring, I have two favorites. The first is the rain. For a long time, I have always seen the rain as something that washes away the old dirt and leaves behind something to improve. The other part of the rain is the storms. Not the severe, tornado-ridden storms, but the storms that bring the lightning, followed by thunder, rain beating down on the roof, and wind blowing. Those are the storms that are fun to just watch and listen to. The second part of spring I like is the flowers. The daffodils, the crocuses, the tulips, the lilies, and many others that greet you in the spring are just so pretty. The colors, along with the greening of the grass, is just a wonderful “sight for sore eyes,” as the saying goes, right after the winter has lost its bit of beauty and turns a little grey.

Along with the flowers are those few other things that grow right away that you can eat. Namely, the rhubarb, the asparagus that grows in the ditches out in the country or in your garden, and those tasty, yet elusive morel mushrooms. Rhubarb desserts are a staple in my house about this time of year, and although the morel season has passed, those are almost the same. Asparagus is in season right now, so we have that at least every other meal, and I won’t complain because I love it! Fresh picked asparagus beats store-bought every time, and is even better because you have to go out and find it yourself. And the morels? Those are the things that really take the work to find, but I think anyone who has had them can attest that they are definitely worth it. The work put in makes everything taste that much better in my mind.

Spring is just a wonderful time of year for people to enjoy while waiting for the joys and fires of summer. They can relax and watch the world wake up, one day at a time. They can enjoy the mildly-warm days, the cool nights and the rain washing everything away to begin anew, and those are the good things of Spring.